Youth Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta said there has been massive improvement in Maori educational achievement since 1999.

Responding to questions in the house on Maori achievements in education, Nanaia Mahuta said Maori have achieved more in the past nine years, than under the previous National government.

�There�s been massive improvement in Maori educational achievement,� Nanaia Mahuta said.

�In 2007 the proportion of Maori school-leavers achieving National Certificate of Educational Achievement level 2 or above was 44 percent; only 18.7 percent of Maori school-leavers in 1999 achieved an equivalent level.

�This improvement reflects the Government's commitment to improving Maori educational outcomes. A lot is being done, there is still more to do, and we are doing it.�

Nanaia Mahuta said the government supported initiatives to ensure students stay at school longer.

�This Government continues to work towards improving educational outcomes for Maori, including the development of Ka Hikitia, which was contributed to by Maori educationalists, Maori communities, and the education sector,� Nanaia Mahuta said.

�We�ve also got Te Marautanga, the curriculum to guide education in Maori medium settings; a revised New Zealand curriculum; and Schools Plus, which looks to address the systemic failures of the past and provide a strategy for all learners to remain in education and/or training until the age of 18.

�The most important thing for this government is that we take a combined approach to ensure that the benefit and support of educational opportunities are available for Maori.�