Steven Gaskell: Classroom or Chapel?

Kiwi Kids Now Getting Schooled in Māori Gods Instead of Maths

Chris Hipkins may call the Government’s decision to remove the Treaty clause from school boards a “victory for Hobson’s Pledge,” but it’s really a victory for democracy and for restoring common sense to education. Parents and volunteers join school boards to help kids learn, not to interpret 1840 documents or preach ideology. Education Minister Erica Stanford is right: the Crown, not local school committees, is accountable for the Treaty.

This change draws a clear line between education and politics. For too long, ideology has crept into classrooms under the banner of “Treaty principles.” What started as cultural inclusion quietly turned into cultural enforcement every board suddenly expected to act as a mini-Treaty tribunal. Instead of focusing on reading, writing, and arithmetic, schools were being nudged into “decolonising” their thinking and rewriting their charters to prove ideological compliance.

It’s worth recalling how we got here. The previous Labour Government inserted Treaty clauses into education law, forcing schools to “give effect” to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. That might sound noble, but it made volunteer boards legally responsible for the Crown’s Treaty duties. Somehow, the Crown’s constitutional obligations were handed to parents trying to manage fundraising and field trips.

The Treaty of Waitangi is an important founding document, but it’s between Māori chiefs and the Crown not between Māori and every PTA in New Zealand. There is nothing in its three short articles about co-governance, partnership, or shared sovereignty. The Treaty guarantees equality under one law, not a permanent political hierarchy based on ancestry.

But give an inch, and ideology will take a mile. By stealth, classrooms across the country became testbeds for cultural re-engineering. What began as “acknowledging the Treaty” has turned into daily karakia, Māori blessings over school events, and even stories of Māori gods taught as moral truths. Some schools now open assemblies with ritual incantations more fitting for a marae or a chapel than a secular public school.

Labour called it “inclusion.” Parents call it indoctrination.

New Zealand’s education system is supposed to be secular that’s the law. Children are there to learn critical thinking, not to be taught whose gods deserve morning devotion. Teaching Māori language and history is valuable; pretending myth is science, or that spirituality is a civic duty, is not.

Erica Stanford’s decision restores a measure of sanity. By removing the Treaty clause, the Government is refocusing schools on education, not ideology. It doesn’t erase Māori culture or heritage it just stops the classroom from becoming a political pulpit. The Crown keeps its Treaty responsibilities, and teachers can get back to teaching.

Democracy works best when public institutions serve everyone equally. That includes schools, which should unite children through knowledge, not divide them through cultural litmus tests. Respecting culture is one thing; rewriting the curriculum around it is another.

So yes, it’s a victory not just for Hobson’s Pledge, but for every Kiwi who believes classrooms are for learning, not lecturing. When education becomes a sermon, it’s time to change the tune. Thankfully, this Government just did.

Steven is an entrepreneur and an ex RNZN diver who likes travelling, renovating houses, Swiss Watches, history, chocolate art and art deco.