9. KELVIN DAVIS (Labour) to the Associate Minister of Education: Will the new national standards in respect of kura help raise Māori student achievement in those schools; if so, how?

Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Associate Minister of Education) : The standards will help those Māori students in kura, because they are designed to complement the marautanga, the curriculum, of the kura.

Kelvin Davis: Why, when he was asked “What is the Ministry of Education’s official vision for students?” by student magazine Salient in 2009, did he answer “That’s a hard question to answer because I’m not really happy with their vision myself,” and are national standards a part of the Ministry’s vision he is unhappy about?

Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES: My delegation is for kura, and I am very happy, in accordance with the member’s questions, that those standards will suit kura and produce better results amongst the tauira.

Kelvin Davis: Does he stand by his statement “Having bought into a relationship with the government, this limits our capabilities …”; if so, is an example of these limitations when he told Māori that national standards were dangerous, only to have John Key come out and shut him down?

Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES: I stand by what I said, and I do all the time. The thing about Māori standards is that we have a consultation process going on, and 47 kura are reporting back on the process. We have 18 regional networks, and ultimately we will have them all feeding back to us so that we can, if you like, hone the final result.

Kelvin Davis: Why are national standards being trialled in kura, but not in immersion units within mainstream schools?

Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES: National standards are being trialled in kura because of the special nature of the marautanga, the curriculum, and its relationship to the kura movement. There are several types of kura, which is why we have to look at how the standards fit kura with Aho Matua, kura without Aho Matua, and kura that are total immersion schools.