Otahuhu Primary School students put on a wonderful display of Samoan and Tongan dance for Tuesday’s launch of the Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020-2030, released by Associate Minister of Education Jenny Salesa at the school.
Falaniko Tominiko, Director of Pacific Success attended the launch with Merran Davis, and said, “I welcome the launch of the Action Plan which puts our Pacific learners and their families at the heart of our education system. We will ensure it aligns with our Pacific Success Strategy at Unitec to create greater consistency of delivery and positive changes for our Pacific learners.”
In launching the plan, which involved consultation with a series of fono over 18 months, Ms Salesa said, “The Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020-2030 is a blueprint for transforming outcomes for Pacific learners and families and is a key part of our wellbeing programme….It will drive systemic change in and across the education system to support the education and wellbeing of our Pacific children and young people.”
“We want Aotearoa New Zealand to be the best place in the world for children and young people. We know that happy, healthy learners are more likely to attend, engage and achieve in education, work and life.
“We know that Pacific learners and families already experience inequitable outcomes in education and have previously been vulnerable to the impacts of a recession. There is a risk that the financial barriers to accessing education will grow and the risks for Pacific learners and families achieving their educational aspirations will be greater than ever before.”
The Action Plan responds to the voices of diverse Pacific communities from across Aotearoa New Zealand and outlines the shifts Pacific communities want to see in the education system to support this direction of travel.
According to the launch press release, the Action Plan guides education agencies to work collaboratively with Pacific communities over the next 10 years, and signals how early learning services, schools and tertiary providers can achieve change for Pacific learners and families.
“We cannot achieve the change needed alone. Working together with Pacific communities and educators and taking collective action is how we can make positive changes for our Pacific learners,” said Ms Salesa.
The Action Plan is supported by Government’s investment of $27.4 million in Budget 2019 and a further $80.2 million in Budget 2020 to support Pacific learners and families.
“Significant investment has been provided to build on the innovative practices valued by Pacific learners and families – not just in our early learning services, our schools and our tertiary institutions, but also in our communities. We know the education system has under-served Pacific learners and that we have to do better.
“The Action Plan will be responsive to changing community needs by continuing to place Pacific voices at the heart of education. By working with Pacific communities we will ensure that we are getting it right and that we understand their needs during these unprecedented times.”
You can see the full press release on the Action Plan here.