A pre-publication Waitangi Tribunal report has found the Crown breached multiple principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in its overhaul of the national curriculum and NCEA.
The finding follows a report released last week by PPTA, Te Wehengarua, which warned that the new requirements could leave nearly 15,000 students, including 4,400 Māori learners, at risk of not achieving NCEA.
The tribunal examined both the reform process and the proposed changes, including the shift from flexible credit accumulation to a more structured, subject-based model with traditional letter grades and compulsory core requirements.
Tribunal findings
The Waitangi Tribunal categorised the Crown failures across four fundamental Treaty principles, identifying a total of seven specific breaches in the design and implementation of the curriculum: breaches of the principle of partnership, active protection, equity, and good government.
Here is how those specific breaches break down across the principles:
Partnership: The Tribunal found a lack of meaningful engagement and working together with Māori regarding the draft national curriculum, noting failures to meet obligations under the Kawa Whakapūmau with Ngā Kura ā Iwi, alongside a failure to properly consider the priorities of whānau, hapū, and iwi for Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori settings.
Active Protection: The inquiry concluded that officials pushed ahead with the new approach without sufficient evidence that it would reduce educational inequities, noted a reduced emphasis on te reo, tikanga, and mātauranga Māori, and found that key indigenous frameworks such as Te Tīrewa Marautanga were sidelined.
Equity: The Tribunal ruled that a systemic failure to actively protect Māori interests, combined with a general sidelining of Māori voices, broke the principle of equity.
Good Government: Officials were found to have failed in checking whether the knowledge-rich philosophy actually suited New Zealand circumstances, instead backing a predetermined ministerial position while ignoring existing, successful Māori education models.
The Minister of Education’s response
Education Minister Erica Stanford pushed back by emphasising that the Tribunal’s review looked at an early draft of the curriculum rather than the final version.
Stanford maintained that officials actively engaged with Treaty obligations throughout the development phase, noting that nearly 100 Māori academics were consulted to shape the policy. Stanford says she is confident that the reforms are balanced and right for all students.
“We have considered Article 3 of the Treaty throughout the process of updating the curriculum,” Stanford said.
The Minister pointed to official figures provided to Te Ao Māori News, which show the proportion of Māori school leavers attaining NCEA Level 2 or above increased from 60.4 percent in 2022 to 63.3 percent in 2025, while attainment at Level 3 or above reached 41.4 percent last year, up 3.5 percentage points from 2021.
“I am pleased that we are starting to see a shift in the right direction for Māori students,” she said, adding that she remains committed to ongoing consultation with Māori, education experts, and local communities to continue lifting achievement.
Union’s response
Strongly backing the Waitangi Tribunal’s conclusions, NZEI Te Riu Roa President Ripeka Lessels, whose union acted as a primary legal claimant driving the urgent Tribunal case alongside iwi Ngāti Hine and Te Kapotai hapū after Parliament removed school boards’ legal duty to “give effect” to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in late 2025.
“Kua roa kē mātou e hiahia te whakaputa tō mātou i kite atu ai i roto i te ao mātauranga mai i te timatanga mai o tēnei kāwanatanga nei,” Lessels said.
Responding to the Minister’s defense regarding consultation with Māori academics, Lessels challenged the narrative, noting that the Minister and her ministerial advisory group had already set the strict parameters of the policy, “Ko tā te pātai a te minita ki ngā mātanga māori, ‘anei te pouaka, tēnā rukuhia hanga koutou he marau i roto i tēnei pouaka’.”
She emphasised that the Minister did not genuinely engage with critics of her approach, “i haere tōtika atu ana ia ki ngā tangata e tautoko atu ana i tērā huarahi kātahi ka hanga i tana marautanga i runga i ngā whakaaro i aua tangata rā.”
The findings also confirmed the deep concerns raised by PPTA Te Wehengarua, the union representing secondary school teachers and principals. In a research report released by the union and analysed by Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL), educators revealed that the curriculum transition risks worsening equity gaps, particularly for students in schools facing high socio-economic disadvantage.
The union participated as an interested party in the Waitangi Tribunal inquiry and provided evidence regarding the curriculum changes.
Both unions support the Tribunal’s recommendation for the Crown to halt the rollout, re-engage with Māori to co-design the new framework, and consider its findings as it continues work on the reform package.
