Te Akatea Māori Principals And Leaders Incorporated Response To ERO’s “Back To Class” Attendance Report

Te Akatea Māori Principals and Leaders Incorporated expresses deep concern at the recent release of the Education Review Office (ERO) attendance report Back to Class and the accompanying comments made by ERO leaders about Māori parents and learners.

The report and its framing have caused considerable offence to Māori educators, whānau, and communities. In particular, the statement that “what we are saying isn’t resonating with Māori students or their parents about the importance of school” is harmful. Such commentary disregards the well-documented systemic barriers to attendance, including intergenerational racism, poverty, and bullying, which continue to shape the daily realities of tamariki and rangatahi Māori.

Te Akatea stands firmly as an education peak body advocating for Māori educators and the 97% of tamariki Māori in English-medium schools. We reject research approaches that pathologise Māori learners and whānau without recognising the oppressive histories and structures of colonisation, or the current government’s deprioritisation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, te reo Māori, tikanga, and mātauranga Māori in education.

We are guided by acclaimed Māori and other Indigenous researchers, whose work has long highlighted the harmful impact of Western research traditions on Indigenous peoples. Their reminders that research has too often been a tool of imperialism and colonisation ring true in this case.

Accordingly, Te Akatea calls on ERO to: 

1. Clarify who gave permission for ERO researchers to speak on behalf of Māori parents and students.

2. Acknowledge whether participants fully understood that their attitudes would be pathologised.

3. Address why systemic factors such as racism, poverty, and bullying, which impact attendance, were not acknowledged in the report’s analysis.

4. Explain how ERO is monitoring the impact of government policy changes that marginalise Māori language, culture, and knowledge.

Te Akatea will continue to advocate strongly for educational research and reporting that upholds mana, reflects kaupapa Māori, and honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We reaffirm our commitment to standing alongside Māori learners, whānau, and educators to resist deficit narratives and to promote an education system that genuinely reflects Māori aspirations and identity.

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