December 17, 2004

Removing Ethnicity Component A Sensible Move

“The government decision to remove the ethnicity component from the formula for calculating school decile levels is sensible,” says New Zealand First spokesperson Brian Donnelly.

“The formula uses a number of indicators of socio-economic deprivation and the inclusion of ethnicity figures (Maori and Pasifika) made virtually no difference to the outcome. All it did was leave an impression that the results of the calculations were determined by ethnicity, when in fact they were almost totally determined by socio-economic factors.

“The Education and Science Select Committee’s review of decile funding suggested that the government should look at this issue. It has done so and as far as New Zealand First is concerned has arrived at a sensible conclusion,” said Mr Donnelly.

ENDS

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