‘By buckling to PPTA demands to guarantee non-contact time within the secondary teachers’ contract, the Minister of Education, Trevor Mallard has made a rod for principals’ backs,’ said NZ First education spokesperson, Brian Donnelly today.

‘Mr Mallard has gone for the cheap option but the result will be less flexibility for school administrators to use staff in the best manner to meet the learning needs of students. The range of courses, especially at senior levels, will be restricted.’

‘There are flow on effects into area schools where principals will be required to provide guaranteed non-contact time for those teaching primary classes.’

The settlement will do little to placate the anger of secondary teachers and will enhance the dissatisfaction of primary teachers when they see their area school colleagues with better conditions. All in all, this is a lose-lose situation’.

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>>