15268 (2025). Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan to the Minister of Education

15268 (2025). Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan to the Minister of Education: Will New Zealand books and poems be prescribed reading in the refreshed Education curriculum; if not, why not?

Hon Erica Stanford: On 31 March 2025, the Ministry of Education (the Ministry) released the draft English learning area for Years 7-13 for consultation with the sector and wider public. The draft learning area includes an expectation that students experience texts from Aotearoa New Zealand authors (as part of a range of texts from around the world). To accompany and support the draft learning area, the Ministry has also released a draft list of suggested texts that align to and exemplify the range, form and complexity of texts outlined in the curriculum. This draft resource includes limited examples only and is not representative of a comprehensive list. Using feedback from consultation, the list will be extended, further developed and released with the final English learning area.