September 12, 2019
New Zealand history added to curriculum
The announcement was made by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at a ceremony this morning to unveil a plaque in Parliament's debating chamber to commemorate the New Zealand Wars.
Ms Ardern says while the national curriculum allows schools and kura to decide how New Zealand history is covered, too much is left to chance.
All schools will be expected to teach the arrival of Māori to Aotearoa New Zealand, first encounters and early colonial history, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the New Zealand Wars and the evolving national identity of Aotearoa New Zealand in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.
Labour Māori caucus co-chair Willie Jackson says the announcement went down well with the iwi leaders who had gathered for the unveiling of the plaque.
"This is what we have been talking about for years, we want the reo in our schools and we want our history in our schools, and now this fabulous announcement from Jacinda this morning was received with rapturous applause by everyone really," he says.
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