30 January, 2008

Rich deliberately misleading yet again

National Party spokeswoman Katherine Rich’s attempt to mislead over the government’s plans for all young people to be in school or some other form of education or training until the age of 18 is ill-informed, Education Minister Chris Carter says.

“If Katherine Rich had bothered to read the Prime Minister’s speech this morning she would know that ‘Realising Youth Potential’ is about ensuring the government can build on successful programmes like Gateway and Youth Apprenticeships and work with employers, tertiary providers and others to give young people a wider range of opportunities to stay attached to education, build their skills and achieve their potential,” Chris Carter said.

Ms Rich described today’s announcement as ‘draconian’ and ‘heavy-handed’ only 24 hours after National Party leader John Key proposed a plan to bring in boot-camps for troubled teens.

This year the Labour-led government has funding for 13,000 senior school students to participate in the Gateway programme which offers senior secondary school students structured workplace learning across more than 50 industries and hundreds of businesses around New Zealand.

“Many of our schools are already offering innovative and flexible programmes that keep students engaged with their school while at the same time giving them the opportunity to learn skills in an area of interest,” Chris Carter says.

“Our education system is modern, flexible and high-achieving by international standards and today’s announcement by Prime Minister Helen Clark sets out yet another plank to help young people succeed in the 21st century” Chris Carter said.

ENDS

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