📚 Education Policy

"Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere. Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga, nōna te ao."

📖 Background

Education in Aotearoa has long been shaped by colonial narratives, inequitable access, and underinvestment in Māori and community-led knowledge systems. While student debt continues to rise, many schools remain under-resourced. Te reo Māori and true Aotearoa history are still absent from many classrooms, and tertiary education is financially out of reach for thousands.

🌟 Vision

We believe education should be free, empowering, and grounded in the diverse cultures, histories, and knowledges of Aotearoa. A truly liberatory education system must honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi, restore mana motuhake (self-determination), and equip future generations to thrive, not just survive.

🎯 Objectives

• Make high-quality education free and accessible at all levels.
• Restore Māori and Pacific knowledge systems as core foundations of learning.
• Decolonise curricula and classrooms across the country.
• End the student debt trap and ensure all learners are supported to succeed.

📜 Policy Commitments

• Make tertiary education free for all, including vocational training and postgraduate study.
• Teach Aotearoa’s true history and Te Tiriti o Waitangi across all schools from Years 1 to 13.
• Make te reo Māori compulsory in all primary and secondary schools.
• Cancel existing student debt through a phased national forgiveness programme.
• Fund hapū and iwi-led education that centres tikanga, whakapapa, and mātauranga Māori.

🛠 Implementation Plan

• Pass legislation to abolish all fees for public universities, polytechnics, and wānanga.
• Integrate a mandatory Aotearoa Histories and Te Tiriti curriculum in collaboration with iwi, historians, and educators.
• Provide full funding and workforce support to train and retain teachers of te reo Māori and kaupapa Māori education.
• Develop a National Student Debt Forgiveness Fund, starting with those in social work, education, and healthcare.
• Invest in hapū and iwi education authorities to develop, accredit, and deliver culturally grounded learning experiences and qualifications.

📆 Timeframe

Year 1–2:

• Legislate free tertiary education
• Begin integration of Te Tiriti and Aotearoa Histories curriculum
• Expand training for te reo Māori teachers

Year 3–5:

• Make te reo Māori compulsory in all schools
• Launch student debt forgiveness fund
• Establish hapū education authorities

Year 6–10:

• Cancel all remaining student debt
• Expand Māori- and Pasifika-led institutions
• Complete rollout of decolonised national curriculum