TE WHAKAARO
HE KURA
TE WHAKAARO – HE KURA
For a number of years, Te Runanga o Tūranganui ā Kiwa (TROTAK) were being advised by its community that increasing numbers of rangatahi under the age of 16, were becoming disengaged from mainstream education. The education provider for TROTAK Tūranga Ararau, continued to see these increasing numbers of rangatahi from whānau or social service providers that were seeking an alternative learning environment for their tamariki/mokopuna.
The graph below demonstrates the Gisborne region for 2019 is generally below the National average in all areas, however the Age standardised stand-down rates per 1,000 students (2019) exceeds the National average, indicating student engagement in education for the Gisborne region continues to be a concern. This may be attributed to the increasing numbers of rangatahi we are seeing seeking an alternative learning environment for their tamariki.
The table below indicates that Māori rangatahi represent the highest rate per 1,000 students in the Gisborne region. (data from Education Counts Website)
In 2016, in response to evidence over years both quantitative and qualitative, Te Rūnanga o Tūranganui a Kiwa, opened negotiations with the Crown initially proposing a Years 9-13 Partnership School|Kura Hourua. In 2017, this proposal progressed to negotiations for a State Integrated School. Such an agreement would enable TROTAK to preserve its Tino Rangatiratanga status through the establishment of a unique, iwi-driven innovative learning space for Years 9-11 tauira. This learning space would be founded on matauranga ā iwi and contribute to iwi economic and cultural development and sustainability.
On 30 August 2018, the Minister of Education the Rt Hon Chris Hipkins and Te Rūnanga o Tūranganui a Kiwa as the Sponsor entered into an integration agreement to establish a state integrated co-educational secondary school. The kura was aptly named Tūranga Tangata Rite, taken from the well known Tūranganui ā Kiwa proverb “Tūranga Tangata Rite, Tūranga Ararau, Tūranga Makarau, Tūranga a Mua”. The location for the school is situated at Te Whare Matatuahu a shared site with Tūranga Ararau Iwi Tertiary provider on the corner of Kahutia and Bright Streets, Gisborne.
The historical significance of Te Whare Matatuahu is the location of a whare wānanga (place of spiritual learning) of Hinehākirirangi, a well known mareikura for the region.
Today, the kura is part of a comprehensive Tūranganui a Kiwa education community providing complementary education programmes and relationships for tauira and tertiary opportunities for Tūranga Tangata Rite graduates.
Tūranga Ararau Iwi Tertiary Provider would form the tuakana role for Tūranga Tangata Rite which highlights the importance of key iwi partnerships for the kura, ensuring all graduates have the opportunity to engage in these partnerships when negotiating their future pathways.
The kura is also developing active partnerships with the Tairawhiti Voyaging Trust and its Waka Hourua, Tairawhiti, TŌNUI Collab, the Tairawhiti Museum and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Nga Uri a Maui. Looking forward, the Tūranga Tangata Rite graduates are being prepared for the broad range of next-steps education opportunities available in the wider community.
The kura is open to tauira from all whānau, hapū and iwi of the historical takiwā o Tūranganui a Kiwa which extends from Paritū in the south, around the hinterland through to Matawai, Motu and Mangatū, then to Tūranga/Gisborne to Pakarae.