Materoa Haenga holding her Supreme Language Teacher at Tertiary Level Trophy

Ko Hikurangi te maunga, ko Waiapu te awa, ko Horouta te waka, ko Rongohaere te marae, ko Te Whānau a Rakairoa, ko Hinerupe ngāhapū, ko Ngāti Porou te iwi.

The “matriarch of Te Manga Māori”, Materoa Haenga will be the lecturer for EIT’s Bachelor of Arts Honours (Māori) when the online study option is offered for the first time next year.

Head of School Pareputiputi Nuku counts herself among those who view Materoa with awe – “her knowledge of te reo and tikanga is invaluable,” she says of the evergreen 72-year old who commands respect and equally shows it to all.

Earlier this year, Materoa considered it “an amazing honour” to be presented with the Supreme Language Teacher at Tertiary Level Trophy at Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated’s inaugural Māori Language Awards. A former dean at EIT’s School of Māori Studies, Joe Te Rito says that in his opinion she is one of New Zealand’s top translators.

Te Manga Māori is introducing online study for its honours programme because, Puti says, it offers students a more flexible approach to learning.

“After studying for the bachelor’s degree, graduates generally need to earn an income but many tell us they would like to continue their learning. This way, they will more readily be able to do both.” Technologically savvy, Materoa successfully trialled the online study option this year with five honours students in Gisborne. Next year, the senior lecturer will be responsible for delivering the programme via weekly video conferencing, email, Moodle for online learning forums and two weekend noho marae Wānanga.