Raising Māori educational achievement is fundamental to our future.

A whānau-centric approach sees whānau taking the lead in decisions that affect their lives – and education plays a crucial role says Māori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples.

Speaking at the launch of the Māori Economic Development Strategy Dr Sharples said educational participation and achievement is one of the greatest challenges – and opportunities facing Māori people.

“In the OECD’s PISA (Programme for International Student Achievement) education study of 85 developed countries New Zealand came 7th, but if you go by ethnic group Pākehā came 2nd while Māori came 34th. This is a crisis. We have to invest in education big time and long term,” said Dr Sharples.

“If we are going to take our people with us on our journey then we must invest in them, particularly our rangatahi.”

Education Minister Hekia Parata says quality education, skills and training are cornerstones of a productive and thriving economy.

“We want all our kids to leave school with the skills they need to reach their potential in the modern economy. We are currently refreshing Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success 2008-2012 and utilising a number of Taskforces to focus all our efforts on achieving these results.”

Ms Parata says the number of Māori school leavers who achieved NCEA Level 2 has risen from 44.3% to 51% over the past year, while this is great: we can do better.