'Education Matters': Choice A Step Closer

Tuesday 24 Feb 2004 Deborah Coddington Press Releases -- Education

ACT New Zealand Education Spokesman Deborah Coddington today welcomed Mark Harrison's book `Education Matters: Government, Markets and New Zealand Schools', labelling it another voice in the call for a comprehensive overhaul of New Zealand's failing education system.

"It takes a fair-minded and balanced approach to assessing whether the current system is providing the quality education that Kiwi parents - and their children - deserve," Miss Coddington said.

"This book advocates greater parental choice, and says the State should support that choice with funding that follows the child. By giving more choice to low-income families, we will improve eduction standards across the board. Under Labour's centralised, one-size-fit-all education system, too many of our children are slipping through the cracks.

"The recent launches of my book: `Let Parent's Choose', National's education document, the Independent Schools' school funding paper from, Maxim's `Vying For Our Children,' Education Forum's `A New Deal,' and now `Education Matters' shows there is a strong, and unified, movement calling for a reform of our education system.

"Education Minister Trevor Mallard must discard his ideological bias against parental choice, and embrace reforms that will produce better outcomes for children - we must reject Labour's backward education policies, and apply some fresh-thinking," Miss Coddington said.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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