E/CN.4/2006/78/Add.3 page 16 Maori as a living language. It enables any witness, lawyer or party to speak Maori in courts, commissions of inquiry and tribunals. 60. During most of the last century, the use of the Maori language in schools was actively discouraged, in order to promote instead assimilation of the Maori into European culture as rapidly as possible. As a result of intense activity carried out by Maori women’s organizations, the first language-nest (kohanga reo) pre-school Maori language immersion programme was established in 1981. The aim was to make every Maori child bilingual by the age of 5 years. By 1994 the programme had 809 schools, and it had 31 per cent of all Maori enrolments in 2003 but still suffers from an insufficient number of professional Maori teachers. In 2003 there were 61 Maori in total language immersion State schools (with almost 6000 students and 415 Maori teachers), 83 bilingual schools and numerous others with immersion classes and bilingual classes. The Government, through Te Puni Kokiri, provides ongoing financial support. 61. Thanks to efforts by Maori leaders, the Maori language became a university subject in 1951. Later, courses in Maori language were included in the curriculum of five universities and eight training school colleges. In 1990, three wananga (Maori education providers) were recognized under statute as tertiary education institutions and since 1999 have been provided with capital support from the Crown, following a Waitangi Tribunal claim. In 2004 there were 70,000 students enrolled in the three wananga. Maori participation in certificate (lower) level tertiary education has grown rapidly over recent years. There were 94,400 Maori students in tertiary education in 2004, up 250 per cent from 1994. Maori students are moving to further study at higher rates than non-Maori, especially Maori women students, whose numbers increased fourfold between 1994 and 2004. Participation by Maori remains lower than the average for the tertiary education sector. 62. The Maori Students in Tertiary Education of Aotearoa complained to the Special Rapporteur that a limitation to their progress to higher programmes in tertiary education is the high burden of student debt and decreasing public funding to support Maori students. The recent policy change to remove interest from student loan repayments will be of significant help to Maori students. 63. Maori organizations acknowledge that Maori culture has been rapidly and pervasively revived. Maori education providers now operate at all levels, delivering instruction in Maori, and teaching Maori customary philosophies, rituals and laws. The defining feature is that cultural revitalization has been driven by Maori, for Maori, with State support, particularly in funding. Maori culture is also promoted to the wider community, including in broadcasting, the arts and national ceremonial occasions. 64. The Government currently has a strategy for involving iwi and Maori in the provision of quality service that meets their aspirations, increasing Maori participation and achievement across the educational sectors, and supporting the provision of Maori language and cultural education. Despite progress thus far, the schooling system has been performing on average less well for Maori than for non-Maori students, a problem which points to as yet unresolved issues concerning culturally appropriate educational methodologies. A major challenge for the educational system is to improve teacher training in the area of Maori education, including Maori teachers, and mainstream classrooms with Maori students.