Better Public Media welcomes the announcement that the Ministry of Education will fund Television New Zealand and Māori Television to provide up to six hours daily of educational content for our children and students, beginning next week. It is both a wise and generous initiative, in these testing times, and it will provide a boost for families who have difficulties accessing online options, and support for both students and parents/caregivers.
“Many parents will be particularly pleased to see Suzy Cato back on television,” said BPM trustee, Geoff Lealand “They will have fond memories of the role programmes such as ‘You and Me’ and ‘Suzy’s World’ played in their own childhood.”
The addition of a channel in Te Reo Māori recognises the large number of Kiwi kids in reo immersion schools, and is equally worthwhile.
“This announcement doesn’t specify whether these will be non-commercial channels, but given Ministry of Education funding is attached we are very hopeful that these are NZ’s first non-commercial television channels since the demise of TVNZ 7 in 2012,” Lealand said. “We are also hopeful that the channels might continue after schools go back, to provide a much-needed Kiwi option to endless online content from overseas.”
