Whangaruru charter school always destined for failure

Whangaruru charter school always destined for failure

NZEI Te Riu Roa National Secretary Paul Goulter says the charter schools’ Partnership Schools Authorisation Board needs to take responsibility for the shambles it created by giving the go-ahead to the Whangaruru charter school.

“The decision to establish and fund the school was wrong in the first place. It was a decision that appears to have been based on ideology and political agendas instead of on the best interests of children and their education,” he says.

The Education Minister Hekia Parata has announced today that she proposes to close the school following ongoing concerns about the quality of education and inadequate leadership since it opened in 2014.

Paul Goulter says it was obvious from the beginning that the Whangaruru school and its backers were ill-equipped to take on the task of running a school.

“The result is that the school has been a failure right from the beginning. The big losers are the students who attended the school and the taxpayer. Millions of taxpayer dollars have been poured away to fund a failed ideological experiment.”

Paul Goulter says it’s not good enough to say that failing charter schools can simply be closed down.

“In the end it’s the students who are the victims.

“We need a well-funded public education system that is accountable and gives all students the best chance of success.”

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