Essential to Discriminate

Te Ao Hou, November 1964, Page 50

Essential to Discriminate It seems ludicrous that critics should refer to this movement as an expression of inverted discrimination. To arrive at the crux of the whole problem it is absolutely essential that one must discriminate between Maori students and Pakeha students. It is this very fault, this decades-old failure to discriminate between Maori and Pakeha needs, particularly in the field of education—this lack of sympathy and ignorance of their very real problems, which has partly led to the stagnation of the Maori race, not only academically, but also economically, socially and culturally. And this situation has improved only insignificantly in the last few decades. It is discouraging to read the statistics which show a comparatively mediocre level of achievement in most fields by the Maori race. Far too few of us are seeking the education which we should be seeking. In spite of the fact that the actual number of Maoris attending post-primary schools has increased fourfold since 1948, proportionately speaking the number is still much too small; and in one recent year (1960), six times as many Maori children as Pakeha children did not complete their primary education. The largest proportion of Maori students leave at the end of form four, whereas the largest proportion of Pakehas leave at the end of form five. Only about 6 per cent of Maoris left with school certificate or higher in 1961, compared with about 32 per cent of non-Maoris. Proportionately speaking, almost six times as many Pakehas as Maoris are seeking education above a form five level.