“To be Educated is the only way to be Free”

“To be Educated is the only way to be Free”

José Martí

The great Cuban philosopher, educator, writer and independence leader would have been proud of the citizens of Christchurch on Monday night. Some 500 of them packed the Papanui High School hall and pilloried two hapless Government list M.P.s (Wagner and Gilmore) over their proposed cuts in the funding of adult and community education.

There isn’t space here to quote at any length from the excellent speeches by Opposition M.P. Marilyn Street and Papanui High Headmaster Denis Pyatt. Suffice it to say that they both savaged the shallow and hypocritical arguments of the Government’s representatives. As did, with similar erudition and eloquence - and great passion - every single speaker from the floor of the meeting.

It is clear that all the Government wants is job training, (mostly for factory-fodder jobs that are fast disappearing anyway), not an educated and culturally advanced citizenry. Even the focus on providing a workforce for its capitalist friends is ironic, given that in its previous unpleasant term of office the National Party totally wrecked a generally excellent apprenticeship system that had served generations of New Zealanders.

The proposal to make what little funding remains both selective as to subjects taught and contestable as to who gets the ‘contract’ (enter the private sector providers...) went down like a lead balloon.

Wagner and Gilmore bleated that the Government had to be careful because “it’s taxpayers’ money we’re were spending”.

“We are the taxpayers”, roared the meeting.

The arrogant and unpleasant Gilmore attracted the most vociferous contempt of the meeting when he posed the question would we rather the Government cut assistance to children with Down’s syndrome. That sick and manipulative remark was met, when the disgust died down, with the demand that if money was short they should take it from the increased grants to their rich mates’ private schools.

Workers’ Rights Campaign members were very well received when they spoke from the floor, and two motions were carried unanimously:
- Demanding that the cuts be cancelled; and
- Calling for a national day of action against the cuts.

ENDS