As Te Wiki o te Reo Māori approaches, the Government is considering deprioritising teaching Te Reo Māori in our schools.
"Te Reo Māori is a taonga unique to Aotearoa we must protect and empower at all costs," says the Green Party's Education spokesperson, Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan.
"Our indigenous language provides us all with an opportunity to connect and engage with the very essence of Aotearoa and deepen our understanding of Te Ao Māori. An Aotearoa that upholds and embraces Te Tiriti is one that allows Te Reo to flourish.
"Currently, a primary objective for schools is to take 'all reasonable steps to make instruction available in tikanga Māori and te reo Māori'.
"However, the Government is consulting on the deprioritisation of Te Reo and replacing it with a blanket directive to make achievement the top priority over everything else.
"It is incredibly poor taste for the Government to be consulting on the deprioritisation of Te Reo in schools as we head into the 52nd anniversary of the Māori language petition and this year's Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.
"This change could throw our goal of having 1 million reo speakers by 2040 into jeopardy. It was not too long ago that Te Reo was banned in schools and left on the brink of becoming history. Its revival is something we should be proud of and be looking to build on.
"We are calling on the public to sign our petition that demands the Government leaves Te Reo in schools alone. We need the public to make its voice heard on this, we must prevent our indigenous language from fading away.
"Te Reo is a taonga that must be preserved for future generations to enjoy," says Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan.
