Te Aute College

Te Ao Hou, June 1975, Page 59

Te Aute College From the Minister of Education, The Hon. P. A. Amos ‘The Government and the Te Aute Trust Board have negotiated a ‘new deal’ which promises to assure the future of this historic college. ‘Te Aute has wrestled with financial difficulties for more than three years—difficulties which continually threatened its very existence, but I am very pleased that the Government has been in a position to help, and that the board has accepted that help. Te Aute has concerned Cabinet for some time. My colleagues, the Minister of Maori Affairs, Mr. Rata; the Minister of Tourism, Mrs Tirikatene-Sullivan, and the Prime Minister also have all been involved in discussions effecting the college's future. ‘Following the visit of Mr Kirk earlier this year, it was decided to hold a special conference in an effort to discuss fully the financial difficulties and the effort to replace existing buildings. It was out of this conference, held in April, that the new deal solution was arrived at. ‘Briefly, the arrangement is that as the Te Aute Trust Board felt it could increase its roll to a minimum of 240 pupils within the next few years, the college should be redeveloped on the same basis as was agreed for St Stephen's School in Auckland, that is, the school part of the college would be integrated into the State on its present site, and the Trust Board would retain responsibility for the hostel. In my experience the arrangement arrived at for St Stephens has worked well. It was introduced at the beginning of the 1973 school year, and I have had no complaints at all. I see no reason why the same arrangement should not work well for Te Aute. ‘We have considered a number of alternatives for the future of Te Aute, some involving shifting the school from the present site, others involving massive improvements, but I am now confident that the decision arrived The Hon. Phillip Amos at is the right one, and one which will serve the school, which has produced Maori leaders such as Sir Apirana Ngata and Sir Maui Pomare, well. ‘During the April conference, there were many impressive submissions received in connection with the school's future. They all impressed me but one which likens the Te Aute situation to an experimental school based on a marae-community concept, as outlined by the Educational Development Conference working party reports, really caught my imagination. ‘This does definitely hold my interest, as the land at Te Aute was given by the Maori people, and the site is very attractive for this type of experiment, in the future. I shall be discussing this possibility more fully with my senior departmental officers shortly. ‘It really pleases me, and it pleases my Government that we have found a happy solution to the Te Aute problem. I am confident that we will see better and even brighter things from the college in the future, as it develops on those strong links which Te Aute has with all Maori people in New Zealand.’ Phillip A. Amos