An address given by The Ven. Turi Hollis, University Chaplain, University of Canterbury, to the National Forum on Education, organised by Canterbury University on 17 November 1999.

There is no doubt that the Maori communities in Aotearoa/New Zealand need well educated, highly educated leaders for the future. As the world rapidly changes, as this country rapidly changes, Iwi, hapu and whanau need people who can guide them through the labyrinth and complexities that change brings. University educated Maori are a must. This not only means that more Maori should be educated in universities, but also the loss of graduates overseas needs to be stymied.

Future population change
In November 1997 the Coalition Government of National and New Zealand First held a Conference on Population at Te Papa. Speakers, like Prof. Ian Poole of Waikato University and Ms Hekia Parata, presented some interesting papers. One of the significant pieces of information I gleaned from that conference was that today a graph showing the demographic shape of the Maori population looks roughly like a pyramid. On the other hand, a graph showing the demographic shape of the non-Maori population looks something like a rugby ball.

Come the year 2015, the non-Maori population is going to have a significant number in the retirement/aged age range while the Maori are going to have sufficient numbers in the working age bracket who will not only be required to sustain Maori, but also a large number of the non-Maori population. One of the solutions proposed to deal with this situation was immigration. Unfortunately, in 2015 there is going to a shortage of educated working people in other parts of the globe, particularly in Europe where there are countries already experiencing a negative population growth. This means that whether people like it or not, this country is going to become increasingly dependent on Maori to work. Universities will definitely need to play a major role in educating Maori for the sake of the future well-being of this country.

Qualitative research needed
Maori are tired of being studied by non-Maori who conduct their research on us, tell us that we have lots of problems, publishing their findings without sharing them with their guinea pigs or providing possible solution. As a result, Maori are left to flounder along when the research may have helped to overcome some of our problems. Maori want Maori researchers who are highly trained and who know how to conduct research in partnership with Maori. This is particularly critical at present because there is plenty of quantitative research but limited qualitative research.

One of the axioms on education is that it encourages a person to think. We need more Maori who can think outside the square. Tunnel vision has not always been a characteristic of the Maori world but in recent years we have tended toward enforcing a 'Textbook culture and world view'. For the future of the individual Maori, whanau, hapu and Iwi, there needs to be more Maori who have both an ability to understand the world and the changes that are under way and also an ability to help the whanau, hapu and Iwi to adjust to these changes, and to move ahead of them too. Further, the social problems that currently exist in this country will continue, and just as the gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider, the gap between Maori and non-Maori will get wider . It is already too far apart and unless something is done about it, the trend will continue.

While university education is not the only solution to these problems, more Maori with university education will help.

What do Universities need to do?
Universities have an enormous pool of brainpower and they should use these people to help our society find solutions to the social, political, economic and cultural problems that exist here. Maori are at the lower end of the socio-economic and political spectrum. Maori will only benefit if the brainpower in the universities addresses itself to helping us; in particular, finding ways to get Maori into universities to join that pool of brainpower and to keep Maori students there.

Retention of Maori students
The retention of Maori students is an area in which universities are not succeeding. If the major function of a university is to conduct research, then research needs to be done on what needs to done to help a Maori who arrives at university at Day One, to stay and progress through to the stage when she/he becomes a researcher acceptable in his/her field of study.

Issues that universities need to consider
Reduction of fees and other costs
A change of attitude by university staff, both academic and registry, is needed. Students are paying for the services the university provides; they are paying for staff to be employed. The higher the fees go, the more students have the right to demand improvements to the services and an in-put into what/how/when and where those services may be delivered.

Examination of the pedagogy used by lecturers and the university as a whole
One approach which a university may wish to think about is: what is the optimum number of Maori students it can take so that it can put sufficient resources into assisting all Maori students on its register to gain their desired qualification(s), and to provide quality and not necessarily quantity education. To assist this approach, the university will need to develop strategic relationships with Iwi, hapu and Maori community groups. When I was working with the Education, Training and Support Agency (ETSA), we adopted this approach and, although I had to leave ETSA before it bore fruit, considerable advantages were achieved.

Conclusion
To conclude, on the cover of the third report of the Maori Education Commission to the Minister of Maori Affairs, there is a proverb which says:

'Te manu ka kai i te miro nona te ngahere.
Te manu ka kai i te matauranga nona te ao.'

(The bird that feeds on the miro owns the forest.
The bird that feeds on knowledge owns the world.)

There are many obstacles in the way of Maori gaining access to, and therefore the opportunity to participate in, university study. There are strong reasons why Maori should and need to gain access to it. With all their brainpower, the universities in this country should not only be able to postulate solutions to the current situation of low Maori matriculation, but also to enact them. I, the Maori community, and the society of Aotearoa/New Zealand look forward to universities doing something about it.