A/HRC/18/35/Add.4 with the Crown, as contemplated under the Treaty of Waitangi. The Special Rapporteur notes that this disadvantage especially manifests itself among Maori living in urban areas. A. Positive developments and ongoing challenges in priority areas 1. Language and education 58. Since the visit of the previous Special Rapporteur, Government initiatives related to Maori education have incorporated the involvement of Maori communities, including whanau and iwi, in education programmes. New Zealand’s revised school curriculum of 2007 was developed alongside a companion document, Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, which sets out the curriculum for schools that conduct classes in the Maori language and emphasizes the importance of these schools working within whanau, iwi and hapu. Also, Ka Hikitia - Managing for Success: The Māori Education Strategy 2008-2012, includes among its main focus areas increasing the learning and capacity of teachers, placing resourcing and priorities in Maori language in education, and increasing whanau and iwi authority and involvement in education.36 59. There have been many key improvements in Maori education since the 2006 report of the previous Special Rapporteur. For example, from 2006 to 2009, Maori participation in early childhood education increased from 89.9 per cent to 91.4 per cent; the percentage of Maori students qualified to attend university after leaving secondary education increased from 14.8 per cent to 20.8 per cent; and the percentage of Maori students staying in school until the age of at least 17 and a half increased from 38.9 per cent to 45.8 per cent.37 However, the education achievement of Maori children still lags behind that of other New Zealanders, particularly in early childhood education and in secondary school retention. 60. The vibrancy of the Maori language has also showed signs of significant improvement over the past few decades, in significant part due to Maori-run and Government revitalization initiatives, as discussed in some detail in the report of the former Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/2006/78/Add.3, paras. 60-65). One notable example of such an effective initiative is Maori Television, which was created in 2004 following years of efforts by Maori representatives and litigation before the Waitangi Tribunal. Maori Television currently has an average monthly audience of over 1.6 million viewers, a figure that is steadily climbing.38 Still, according to a 2006 study on the health of the Maori language, despite significant improvements in the last couple of decades, only 23 per cent of Maori and 4 per cent of all New Zealanders have conversational Maori language abilities.39 Therefore, “although there is evidence of the re-emergence of intergenerational Māori language transmission, this is only at the initial budding stage and is not the norm in Māori society. Accordingly, if the Māori language is to flourish, conscious effort at all levels … remains a necessary requirement”.40 36 37 38 39 40 For an overview of the Strategy, see www.minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/PolicyAndStrategy/KaHikitia/ StrategyOverview/HowThingsWillChange.aspx. All statistics from New Zealand, Ministry of Education, “Progress against Māori Education Plan targets: Ka Hikitia - Managing for Success”. Available from www.educationcounts.govt.nz/themes/maori-education/31351/36805. 2008-09 data. New Zealand, Te Puni Kokiri (Ministry of Maori Development), The Health of the Māori Language in 2006 (2008), p. 35. Ibid. 17