Is the Maori language taught in schools?
A10. Maori language is taught at pre-school level (ages 0 to 4) in kohanga reo (Maori language nests). According to the Ministry of Education in 2006 there were approximately 9,493 Maori children enrolled in a kohanga reo. Maori language is taught at school level (ages 5 to 16) as a subject and also through Maori bilingual/immersion education programmes. Such programmes may exist as a separate stream in a school, or in separate schools which teach mainly through the medium of Maori and adhere to Maori values and protocols (these schools are term kura kaupapa Maori). Maori bilingual/immersion programmes can be considered to be dual-language or two-way immersion programmes as their goal is to produce students who are fluent in both Maori and English. In 2007 there are approximately 27,529 children (ages 5 to 16) were enrolled in some form of Maori bilingual/immersion education programme. As at 1 July 2006 there were 66 official kura kaupapa Maori with a total of 5952 students. All parent
