Staffing

Teachers in the Maori service are employed under the same salary and appointment regulations as teachers in Board schools. Because the head teacher and his wife are often required to enter into the social and welfare activities of Maori communities, preference in appointments is given to married teaching couples. Junior assistants – mainly young Maori women with secondary education – are also appointed to Maori schools.

The Primary School Curriculum

The chief difference between the curriculum of Maori and public schools is one of emphasis on some aspects of health, music, and arts and crafts. Board schools, with predominantly Maori rolls, are now also stressing Maori cultural activities, and the Department has issued to all schools a manual on the traditional arts of the Maori.

Post-primary Education

As the number of Maori village schools established by the Government increased, many of the private denominational schools withdrew from primary and concentrated on post-primary education. As the Government was not anxious to build secondary schools of its own, a system of scholarships was established to enable pupils in remote areas to board at denominational schools.

The establishment of district high schools in country areas and the migration to urban areas have resulted in steadily mounting numbers of Maoris attending State post-primary schools.

Concern has been expressed at the relatively small proportion of Maoris who have taken academic courses and continued their education in the fifth and sixth forms, but there are definite indications that the situation is improving.

The following table illustrates the rate of increase in the number of Maoris proceeding to post-primary schools.

The Post-primary Curriculum

Since the great majority of Maoris attend public schools, they have the same curriculum as Pakeha students – the “core” subjects and a choice of subjects for School Certificate. In the private schools and Maori district high schools, greater emphasis is placed on arts and crafts, and an increasing number include the Maori language in their timetables.

University and Teacher College Education

The proportionately lower number of Maoris proceeding to the upper forms of post-primary schools is reflected in the numbers enrolled at the University. Nevertheless, increasing numbers are graduating and entering a variety of professions. There are usually about 100 Maori students being trained at teachers' colleges.

Pre-apprentice Training

Pre-apprentice training schemes for Maori youths have met with marked success. Courses are available at technical institutes in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. Trades served at present include carpentry, electrical wiring, motor mechanics, painting and decorating, and panelbeating. When suitable boys are seeking training, a course is also offered in plumbing.

Financial Assistance

Various post-primary and university scholarships are available for Maori students, and other financial assistance is provided by the Department of Maori Affairs and Trust Boards. In this respect the Maori Education Foundation encourages and assists increasing numbers of capable young Maoris to reach higher educational levels in both the academic and technical fields.

The future will undoubtedly bring important changes in administration, organisation, curricula, and methods of teaching, but the outlook for Maori education is a very promising one. It can be confidently anticipated that the passing years will record marked progress in every aspect of educational endeavour.

by Raymond Leopold Bradly, M.A., DIP.ED., Regional Superintendent of Education (Auckland), Department of Education.

MAORI EDUCATION FOUNDATION

A Maori Education Foundation was recommended by J. K. Hunn in his report on the Department of Maori Affairs, 1960, which revealed that the proportion of Maori apprentices, sixth-formers, and university students was much below that of the European population. The Hon. J. R. Hanan, Minister of Maori Affairs, introduced the Maori Education Foundation Bill into Parliament on 7 July 1961 and it became law on 8 November 1961. The Act established the Maori Education Foundation for promoting and encouraging the better education of Maoris and providing funds for this purpose. The Foundation consists of contributors to the Foundation who in any financial year have given 10s. or more in money or property, and of life members who have given a donation of £20 or more or who agree to give £2 a year for 10 years.

Functions of the Foundation

The Board of Trustees of the Maori Education Foundation consists of a chairman, being the trustee appointed by the Governor-General, and seven other trustees, namely, the Director of Education, the Secretary of Maori Affairs, an officer in the Department of Education, a Maori member of Parliament, and nominees of the New Zealand Maori Council of Tribal Executives, the Dominion Executive of the Maori Women's Welfare League, and the Minister of Maori Affairs. The Foundation is a body corporate. One of its main functions is to apply its funds to the education and training of Maoris by the establishment, equipping, and maintenance of schools, the majority of whose pupils are Maoris, and by financially assisting schools where Maoris are receiving education. It may make grants to bodies formed for the promotion of Maori education and for encouraging the Maori people to appreciate the advantages of better education. It may provide bursaries and scholarships to assist Maoris to attend post-primary schools and universities and to undertake postgraduate study. Another function of the Board is to provide special research or study grants and grants for vocational training, as well as books, clothing, and other equipment for the holders of bursaries, scholarships, and grants. Any assistance from the Foundation is, however, additional to the existing facilities for the education of Maori youth.

The Foundation movement to raise funds was launched on 26 March 1962 with the sum of £125,000 from the Government which in addition agreed to subsidise donations £1 for £1. A network of district and local committees for the whole country was set up, the co-chairman of each district being a mayor or deputy mayor of a town or city within the district together with a prominent Maori citizen.

At the end of 1963 the Foundation life membership stood at 3,000 and the capital funds at about £640,000. Over a thousand applications for assistance had been received, and £34,000 disbursed to over 400 students on the basis of the merits and needs of each case. The majority of awards have been made to post-primary-school students, to others in widely varying vocational fields, and to about 50 university students.

by John Sidney Gully, M.A., DIP.N.Z.L.S., Assistant Chief Librarian, General Assembly Library, Wellington.

MAORI EDUCATION FOUNDATION

A Maori Education Foundation was recommended by J. K. Hunn in his report on the Department of Maori Affairs, 1960, which revealed that the proportion of Maori apprentices, sixth-formers, and university students was much below that of the European population. The Hon. J. R. Hanan, Minister of Maori Affairs, introduced the Maori Education Foundation Bill into Parliament on 7 July 1961 and it became law on 8 November 1961. The Act established the Maori Education Foundation for promoting and encouraging the better education of Maoris and providing funds for this purpose. The Foundation consists of contributors to the Foundation who in any financial year have given 10s. or more in money or property, and of life members who have given a donation of £20 or more or who agree to give £2 a year for 10 years.