New era in Te Reo Māori education at NMIT

Māori language education at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) is entering a new era, with the launch of a new diploma in Māori studies - Te Hāpara, a revamped style of delivery for Te Reo programmes and some new faces in the classroom.

NMIT's Director of Māori Education Doc Ferris says it's an exciting time for Te Toki Pakohe - the centre of Māori education at NMIT, and a development that’s been a long time coming.

"It's a delivery model for the 21st century and it reflects where Te Reo Māori is at nationally today".

NMIT will continue to offer its two existing certificates – Te Rito o Te Reo and Te Tuara me Te Tinana o Te Reo, but the delivery time will be condensed and they'll draw on a wider range of cutting-edge teaching and learning resources, including interactive online resources. Instead of being offered part-time over five years, both the certificate and diploma programmes will be available with full-time or part-time study options and students will be able to go from absolute beginner to advanced within two years of full-time study. This new approach will accelerate the learning of Te Reo and improve the quality of spoken Te Reo Māori.

"This is the next step in our drive toward offering degree-level study in Te Reo in the region. It's about striving for excellence in Te Reo and mātauranga Māori, raising the level and increasing the number of fluent speakers", says Ferris.

NMIT has welcomed two new Te Reo Māori tutors – Ripeka Pritchard and Ropata Paora. Both are new to Nelson and have extensive experience teaching Te Reo Māori at tertiary level as well as in iwi and marae settings. They have come through the Māori education system and are fluent speakers.

"It's great to have them on board and there's a real vibe of pushing forward to another level and good energy and positivity around the place", says Ferris.

NMIT currently has around 100 students across the region studying Te Reo Māori programmes.