Kura kaupapa 'jumping through hoops' to acquire rapid antigen tests

Tuesday, 1 March 2022

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Mokopuna principal Rawiri Wright is concerned about how difficult it is to get rapid antigen tests for Māori-medium school teachers across the country.

Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa, the council of Māori-medium schools, has criticised the actions of the Ministry of Education in a Twitter post.

Condemning the lack of dialogue between kura kaupapa and local district health boards, the council has called the application process for rapid antigen tests (RATs) inequitable.

“What we’ve found across the board is that without personal connections to the Government it has been very difficult to acquire RATs,” said Rawiri Wright, principal of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Mokopuna in Wellington.

That was inequitable, Wright said, because schools should not have to rely on whom they know to get help. He said he knew that wasn’t the experience of every kura, but that his situation wasn’t “unique”.

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Many kura kaupapa have considered the option of online teaching, despite the recommendations of the Ministry of Education.

When asked about RATs for kura kaupapa and rural Māori, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said, “We keep under close review … they should only be accessing the close contact exemption scheme for their staff where that is an absolute last resort.”

In regard to students, Hipkins stated: 'As we head towards the peak of this particular Omicron outbreak we may do more there.'

But Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori should be receiving its own share of RATs, to distribute directly to kura in need, Wright said.

“It feels like the ministry wants to hold all the mana and this is not the time for that,” said Wright, who also chairs the rūnanga.

As at July 1, 2021 there were 23,161 students enrolled in Māori-medium education. That represents 2.8 per cent of the total school population, with 96.3 per cent of Māori-medium school students identifying as Māori.

In order to guarantee the safety of whānau, kura have considered the option of shutting down.

“I found out on Sunday night at 6pm that two of my teachers contracted Covid. So today we decided to shut down the kura – we [Māori-medium schools] are one community and this is our community response.”

Te Kura Kaupapa o Ngā Mokopuna had gone extra lengths to ensure community health and safety, Wright said.

“We are delivering students devices on our own dime and establishing vaccine clinics while the school is closed down.”

Chief executive of social service provider Te Whānau o Waipareira, John Tamihere said, “If you’re going to deploy rapid antigen tests, then they require huge volumes.”

Tamihere acknowledged the battle that kaiako (teachers) are fighting and called it the “middle-class catch-up”.

“The best-dressed ones with the resources to stay are usually getting the best treatment.”

Directing operations of distribution, Tamihere said Te Whānau o Waipereira was handing out more than 7500 tests a day.

“Our people are slow movers because they’ve always been put at the back of the queue. So we are delivering to our kōhanga and kura, and they are delivering it to their whānau.”