Pupils walk out in support of Maori

Press, 2 June 1984, Page 9

Pupils walk out in support of Maori

Protesting Hillmorton High School pupils left their classrooms yesterday in support of the inclusion of Maori in the secondary school core curriculum. About 300 of the school’s roll of about 1000 walked out of classes at noon in response to a call for Maori students to do so. The call was made at a hui on Maori education last month. The June 1 date for the walk-out was set because it was the last day for submissions on the core curriculum. Only about a third of the students who left classes were Maori. The students had intended to go home for the afternoon but the school’s principal, Mr Ward Clarke, spoke to them and arranged two assemblies to explain the issue to the whole school. “There were a number of misapprehensions. Some had heard that Maoris were to be removed from State schools. Others were protesting in favour of includ-

ing Maori in the curriculum and specifying a minimum time allocation for the subject,” he said. “I talked to them about the issue and explained to the assemblies what the school was doing to support the Maori component’s inclusion in the curriculum,” Mr Clarke said. The school’s programme included Maori culture classes at the fourth form level, visits by the Race Relations Conciliator, and hosting Maori visitors as a marae. As a result of the assemblies and the discussion which followed in individual classrooms, Mr Clarke is drawing up a petition supporting the inclusion of Maori in the curriculum with a minimum time allocation. The petition will be available for pupils to sign and will be sent to the Minister of Education, Mr Wellington, in the school’s name. Mr Clarke said he had been given no warning of

the students’ plans and had had to arrange “something impromptu.” “Several students made the point that they had nothing against the school but it was a matter that was causing concern.” The students would have missed about half an hour of classroom time, he said. Most schools in Christchurch had a teachers-only day yesterday and pupils were not required to attend. Hillmorton will have its teachers-only day on Tuesday. Dr Colin Knight, the regional superintendent of the Education Department, said the matter had been resolved at Hillmorton. The department plans no action against hundreds of Auckland secondary school pupils who downed books yesterday to discuss Maori education issues, reports the Press Association. The stop-classes talks received the reserved blessing of the department’s regional superintendent, Mr Pat Foley, who said if the pupils were taking a positive look at problems and possible changes to the school curriculum it could only be of value. At Otara’s Hillary College, the principal, Mr Jim Miller, said he considered the discussion day worth while. “Some of the leaders of the sixth and seventh forms have worked hard preparing for this. They are taking a very responsible attitude toward it.”