The Green Party says if the Government is serious about keeping Te Reo Māori alive then it should allocate more money into researching how it is used in schools.
Photo: RNZ / Tom Furley
The Green Party and New Zealand First have called for a select committee inquiry into Te Reo Māori in schools - but, earlier this week, the committee in question delayed making a decision on holding an inquiry.
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Green Party education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said she was surprised to learn there had never been an inquiry in Parliament on capacity to teach Te Reo in schools
Ms Delahunty said the Government needed to do more.
"If we're really, really serious about it then the Government and the Budget every year should put up more money for strengthening Te Reo and the best use of those resources needs to be clearly identified. That is why the inquiry is needed."
Ms Delahunty said the 'Tomorrow Schools' model was weakening Te Reo because it restricted the ability to monitor and research how it was being taught.
"One of the problems with getting the data is that under the model of 'Tomorrow Schools' every school is like an independent environment and I don't know that the Ministry [of Education] have the information beyond the basic level."
However, Education Minister Hekia Parata said the ministry collected a wide range of data about student performance and about what worked and did not work in the classroom.
Ms Parata said she did not want to spend more money and preferred to use existing money to lift the quality of teaching and learning.