PM unconvincing on education
18 November 2012
PM unconvincing on
education
The Prime Minister failed to explain away the series of educational debacles created by his Government when speaking on "The Nation" this weekend, the Green Party said today.
“His attempt to spin the
National Standards policy as a success by claiming schools
now talk to him about “higher achievement" shows he is out
of touch with both parents and teachers struggling with
narrower reporting and a narrowed curriculum,” said Green
Party education spokesperson Catherine
Delahunty.
“He needs to produce better evidence
that National Standards and their publication have done
anything positive given the research of Professor Martin
Thrupp, which shows the opposite.
“The Prime Minister
also tried to spin the failed class size increase policy as
"lost in translation" and withdrawn to avoid strikes, which
is a brave attempt but New Zealand parents know that their
opposition to this Treasury initiative killed it dead.
“His comments on this issue show that National
still believes in larger classes but they have learned that
it cannot be sold to voters.
“His comment that the most important issue for education is professional development for teachers is disingenuous given that professional development in the primary sector has been narrowed to a focus on National Standards and the Government have a Bill before the House promoting unregistered teachers in Charter schools.
“His comments reflect a contradictory and
damaging agenda on education.
“The Christchurch
school “consultation” and Novapay chaos add a dimension
of incompetence, which cannot be justified.
“The Green Party believes in quality public education and we support state schools to innovate to meet the needs of all our children. We believe that there are examples of best practice to be celebrated and shared as schools work to mitigate the increasing inequality across of our country.”
ENDS