Students Must Be Centre Of Education Change

As education communities around the world prepare to celebrate the International Day of Education, on 24 January, New Zealand secondary teachers call on the Government to make sure that young people are at the centre of educational change, particularly changes to our national secondary school qualification.

This year’s theme of the United Nations-sponsored event is ‘The power of youth in co-creating education’.

“Education is not something done to or for ākonga – it is something we create with them,” says Chris Abercrombie, president of PPTA Te Wehengarua, the union that represents 21,000 secondary and area school teachers throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

“For changes to our curriculum and qualifications to be effective and lasting, they must have students at the centre and they must acknowledge the different ways in which students learn, and the wide range of circumstances in which young people live.”

Chris Abercrombie said teachers were concerned that the proposed changes to qualifications, for example, would further disadvantage those young people who were already vulnerable.

“Of course, the current NCEA system is not perfect, but it is a vast improvement on the previous system which saw far too many young people leave school without a qualification and a diminished sense of their own worth. Teachers are concerned that the proposed changes will take us backwards in that regard.

“So, we’re pleased that the Minister has decided to take more time to consider all the submissions that were made about the changes and we hope that she takes a lot of the concerns on board.”

Chris Abercombie said it was impossible to commemorate International Day of Education without reflecting on the plight of the hundreds of millions of children and young people whose rights to education were currently being denied them.

“Education is a human right, and a springboard to greater opportunity and living your best life. However, right now around the world, about 270 million children and young people are being deprived of an education because of poverty, discrimination, conflict, displacement and disasters.

“We urge all governments and international agencies to do everything they can to ensure every child and young person, wherever they live in the world, has access to the education they deserve.”

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