The investigation into the Education Review Office has forced Trevor Mallard to listen to common-sense over the status of the agency, National's Education spokesperson Gerry Brownlee said today.

"Pre-election Mr Mallard said that he favoured merging the ERO into the Ministry of Education. It seemed Mr Mallard had already made up his mind when he announced a review of ERO in August last year. But now Mr Mallard has had to put the facts ahead of his bias and take the advice of the review team.

"The Education Review Office is the independent bearer of standards in the education sector. Parents throughout New Zealand will be relieved that the Government has not silenced ERO.

"In addition to recommending that ERO remain a standalone agency, the report provides some good recommendations about how ERO could be made more effective.

"I welcome the recommendation that ERO should focus more on the quality of education provided by each school and agree that teachers should spend less time doing administration work so they can focus on teaching. Any moves to get ERO and the Ministry of Education working together to assist schools in fixing problems are a step in the right direction," Mr Brownlee said.

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>