The Government's commitment to the growth and development of te reo Māori has continued in Budget 2022, including the largest ever investment in kura property says Associate Minister of Education Kelvin Davis.

'We know that there are pressures where schools delivering at higher levels of immersion face significant challenges and we have to meet that,” says Davis.

'We've set an ambitious target to grow Māori-medium and Kaupapa Māori education over the next two decades and have set the foundations through record investment in the past three years.

Budget 2022 focusses on ensuring funding goes directly to kura to respond to the needs of individual ākonga and whānau to assist with the extra costs they face.

This will benefit around 17,000 ākonga and their whānau at 215 kura and schools. It will allow each kura with an average size of 80 ākonga to hire one additional staff member, or the equivalent in support.

A significant investment of $125.12m in capital and operating funding will also be made in Māori Medium Property to improve the condition of classrooms, redevelop several Wānanga and character schools as well as purchasing land for up to six kura who are currently teaching out of temporary sites.

'This Budget will help to grow Māori Education in a way our ākonga deserve. Tamariki have a right to be immersed in their language and culture in buildings that are fit for purpose, and to be taught by teachers who are supported and valued," says Davis.

The announcement builds on the significant investment this Government has provided in previous Budgets to reconnect Māori tamariki with their language and culture. Successive budgets have increased funding rates for Kōhanga Reo, invested in property, funded new teaching and learning resources and created funding pools to support Wānanga research aspirations.

'Te reo Māori is a taonga, and I remain committed to supporting Māori Education. This Budget will help providers to have the resourcing they need for our ākonga to thrive.” says Davis.

Full Budget 2022 Māori Education elements:

· $47.3m to increase Māori Language Programme funding at the highest level of immersion (level 1), with funding going directly to kura

· $30.15m for developing to reo Matatini, pāngarau and aromatawai research, tools and resources critical to building the workforce

· $105m in Māori Medium Property to fund:

o The redevelopment of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Mangere;

o The redevelopment of Te Kura-a-iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano;

o The redevelopment of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Ara Whanui;

o The purchasing land for up to six Kura who are currently teaching out of temporary sites;

o The planning and design work for at least 4 additional Kura that require redevelopment.

· $10m to establish Te Tahua O Te Reo Kairangi (the High Proficiency Fund) in the tertiary sector to support language revitalisation and address workforce needs through the growth of te reo Māori speakers

· $5m to support and grow the workforce through investing in Iwi and Māori scholarships

· $8m for the Education Review Office to lead the evaluation and monitoring of te reo Māori outcomes within English medium schools

· $9.35m to support the recommendations from Te Pae Roa consultations on Māori-medium education and Kaupapa Māori pathways