Ministry shelves book due to 'too many' Māori words

A children's reading book has been shelved by the Ministry of Education because it has apparently got too many Māori words in it. In a message to schools, it said student sized copies of 'At the Marae' will not be reprinted due to the "high number" of te reo Māori words in the text. The Ministry of Education said Māori vowel sounds are different to English ones and that makes the book less appropriate for students to practise decoding wording using the phonetic method they have been taught. CEO of Te Akatea, the national association of Māori school principals and leaders spoke to Lisa Owen.