Te Akatea Condemns Inequitable Curriculum Consultation Timeline As A Breach Of Te Tiriti And Professional Respect

AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND – Te Akatea (The New Zealand Māori Principals’ and Leaders Association) is the organisation that supports and advocates for Māori educators. Te Akatea has hundreds of members throughout Aotearoa.

Te Akatea is calling for an immediate extension to the consultation period for the draft Te Marautanga o Aotearoa framework and its wāhanga ako. Te Akatea states the truncated consultation period for Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, when compared with the New Zealand Curriculum draft, is a failure to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and reflects a pattern of unequal treatment of Māori educators.

The People's Action Plan Against Racism, an initiative led by the National Iwi Chairs Forum (Pou Tikanga) has developed a definition of racism drawn from local experience and decades of international scholarship. The definition is apposite in this context:

Racism is a collection of ideas, actions, and institutional practices, backed by institutional and social power, that produce, maintain and normalise inequity and inequality for Tangata Whenua and other racialised groups.

Kaiwhakahaere Matua of Te Akatea, Bruce Jepsen, states that “The English-medium New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) was granted a consultation period of nearly six-months starting on October 28, 2025. The Māori-medium draft, however, was only released on January 28, 2026, but consultation on both documents is currently scheduled to close on April 24, 2026.”

The comparison of consultation time is important. English-medium educators have been provided with 178 days of consultation, while Māori-medium educators have been provided with 86 days. This is less than half the time afforded to English-medium educators.

According to Jepsen, “This exemplifies actions and institutional practices, backed by institutional power that produce, maintain and normalise inequity and inequality for Tangata Whenua. In other words, it is a textbook example of the National Iwi Chairs Forums’ definition of racism.”

A Breach of Te Tiriti and Professional Respect

Te Akatea asserts that this truncated timeline sends a message that the Māori-medium curriculum is not as important as the English-medium curriculum. This effectively relegates the indigenous curriculum to a subservient document and perpetuates the notion that Māori are second-class citizens. This is a serious breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Additionally, professional respect has been compromised. "To expect our tumuaki and kaiako to provide meaningful, high-level feedback on a document that defines the future of Māori-medium education in just twelve weeks is not only unrealistic; it is insulting," says Jepsen. "Our leaders are already navigating a 'barrage of changes' and heavy workloads. This rushed process sidelines the very experts needed to ensure this curriculum is fit for purpose."

Key Concerns Highlighted by Te Akatea:

Inequitable Timelines: Māori-medium educators have been given significantly less time than their English-medium counterparts to review complex, foundational changes.

Capacity and Wellbeing: Tumuaki are currently managing the implementation of new Pāngarau and Te Reo Rangatira requirements while being asked to consult on six additional wāhanga ako (Pūtaiao, Waiora, Toi Ihiihi, Hangarau, Ngā Reo, and Te Reo Pākehā).

Incomplete Information: The Te Ao Māori wāhanga ako has yet to be fully integrated into the consultation, leaving educators to provide feedback on an incomplete framework.

The Call to Action

Te Akatea joins other education sector leaders in demanding that the Ministry of Education:

1. Extend the deadline for Te Marautanga o Aotearoa consultation to at least October 2026 to match the depth of engagement required.

2. Ensure Parity between Māori-medium and English-medium consultation processes.

3. Prioritise Genuine Co-design that recognises mātauranga Māori as equal to Western "science of learning" frameworks.

"We cannot allow a 'knowledge-rich' curriculum to become a 'Eurocentric-only' curriculum through a rushed and exclusionary process," says Jepsen. "If the Government does not want to be complicit in acts of racism, if they are serious about 'equity and excellence,' they must start by giving Māori educators the time and space to be heard."

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