Native Schools & The 2025 Treaty Roll Back

What the Native Schools era warns about today’s education reforms

By Dr Harpreet Singh | drhsinghnz.substack.com | FB: @DrHSinghNZ

What we choose not to protect, we choose to lose. - Dr Harpreet Singh

Education in Aotearoa New Zealand has never been neutral. It has always been a contested space where the state decides whose knowledge counts and whose future is imagined. Two defining moments, the Native Schools era and the current rollback of Treaty principles under the coalition government, show how policy decisions can shape Māori futures for generations. Both periods reveal a recurring hazard: when protections for Māori language and culture weaken, the harm is deep and enduring.

The Native Schools Era: Assimilation by Design

The Native Schools Act 1867 created a system aimed at assimilating Māori into Pākehā norms. English was enforced as the sole language of instruction, and te reo Māori was actively suppressed. Children were punished for speaking their own language, and the curriculum focused on manual and domestic skills, limiting Māori to roles the state deemed appropriate. This approach inflicted generational harm: language loss, cultural erasure, identity trauma, and restricted economic opportunities.

Hard-Won Gains: Embedding Te Tiriti in Education

Decades of Māori activism reversed some of these injustices. The Education and Training Act 2020 required school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, embedding Māori language, tikanga, and mātauranga Māori in school planning, fostering partnerships with iwi and hapū, and setting equity targets for Māori learners. Curriculum reforms such as Te Mātaiaho further integrated Māori knowledge across subjects, signalling a genuine commitment to partnership and inclusion.

The Coalition Government’s Rollback

In 2025, the National, ACT, and New Zealand First coalition government removed the requirement for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti. Ministers argued that Treaty obligations remain with the Crown, but critics warn this weakens accountability where decisions most affect tamariki. Without a legal mandate, Māori language and culture risk becoming optional. This rollback echoes the logic of the Native Schools era, where policy sidelined Māori identity in education and normalised exclusion.

Parallels: Language and Culture at Risk Again

The parallels are striking. The Native Schools era openly suppressed te reo Māori and mātauranga Māori, while today’s rollback creates structural vulnerability through legislative retreat. When obligations become voluntary, history shows Māori priorities slide to the margins quietly, unevenly, and sometimes irreversibly. Both periods weaken institutional responsibility for Māori identity in education. The mechanism differs, overt punishment then, discretionary practice now, but the outcome can be similar: language loss, cultural invisibility, and intergenerational harm.

Why Legal Architecture Matters

Legal obligations bind values to practice. When Te Tiriti duties are in statute, they compel every school to honour mana whenua, resource te reo pathways, and integrate mātauranga Māori across learning areas. Remove that spine, and protections depend on goodwill rather than universal guarantees. Goodwill is powerful, but it is no substitute for a legal framework that safeguards every tamaiti Māori, in every rohe, every year.

A Choice Between Safeguarding and Erasure

Education is the hinge of tino rangatiratanga because it decides what a nation passes to its children. The Native Schools era shows how quickly laws and policies can reshape identity negatively. The current rollback shows how easily protections can be withdrawn. If Māori language and culture become “nice to have”, if te reo Māori provision depends on local demand rather than national duty, and if Māori‑centred pedagogy is tolerated rather than required, the slow drift away from Tiriti‑grounded schooling will begin. And once that drift takes hold, it can take lifetimes to reverse.

When the law stops protecting Māori language and culture, they begin to disappear. The Native Schools era proved this. The 2025 rollback of Treaty obligations risks opening that door again, placing the identity and future of Māori tamariki back in harm’s way.