THE COMMISSION ON EDUCATION

Te Ao Hou, September 1960, Page 63

THE COMMISSION ON EDUCATION In July, a Commission on Education was held in Wellington, and important submissions were made to it on Maori education. Mr K. I. Robertson, officer for Maori Education for the Education Department, said that the task of Maori education is to meet the need for cultural adjustment, over come handicaps, especially in language, and to enable the Maori to attain social, educational, economic equality with the European. The gap between the two cultures is narrowing, after a century of adaptation, Mr Robertson said, but one should not be blind to the still existing problems, to the fact that the cohesion of Maori society has been lost and that many Maoris remain culturally handicapped, in spite of all that education can do. Maori children need the backing of interested parents, more experience of books and reading and a home providing privacy for real study at secondary school level. “In many Maori homes, these conditions exist in a reasonable degree, but in far too many, little thought is given to educational opportunity or future occupation. In these matters, the Maori welfare officer and the education service have a vital role…. The Maori however, must retain his identity—his integration depends on acceptance of him as a Maori by the European majority, who must help him to help himself towards independence, better living standards, and economic equality. This challenge has been answered in the Maori schools; it is now being heard in the public schools, high schools and colleges. If acceptance in the full sense exists anywhere, it is in the universities and the teachers' colleges. This gives cause for optimism on Maori-European relationships, for it is from the universities and the teachers' colleges that leadership comes.”