Top Auckland school starts compulsory Maori classes
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Great news on the education front in New Zealand: one of the top boys’ schools in the country has now made Maori language study compulsory. Students in Year 9 at King’s College will have to undertake a half year of Maori language study, with obvious options to continue on with the language.
Lincoln Savage, te reo Maori teacher at the school, says that not only is it a great chance to introduce students to the language and the culture, it will give them an added advantage should they go on to careers in fields like law or medicine. Both of these disciplines involve some Maori study at university level, as well as inevitable contact with the language during the course of the profession.
Happily, the new rules have been met with enthusiasm from the students as well as their families. Hopefully, the small numbers of students taking Maori in Years 10-13 will increase in the future, as more students become familiar with it. It’s a great start, anyway.
Full article: New Zealand Herald.