Backlash after New Zealand government scraps rules on incorporating Māori culture in classrooms

Minister says obligations for school boards to give effect' to the treaty are unfair while critics argue the move will sideline Indigenous education

• New Zealand's Treaty of Waitangi - explained in 30 seconds

A plan by New Zealand's government to scrap a legal requirement on schools to incorporate local Mori culture in classrooms has been condemned by teachers, principals and school boards.

Since 2020, school boards have been obligated to give effect" to the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document signed in 1840 between Mori tribes and the British Crown and instrumental in upholding Mori rights.