Dangerous Changes To Education Opposed Overwhelmingly

Proposed changes to education, which would give the Government unprecedented political influence over the curriculum and the teaching profession, are overwhelmingly opposed by the public, according to an analysis of submissions on the changes.

The proposed legislation, the Education and Amendment (System Reform) Bill, has been reported back to Parliament from select committee and is set to be debated again this evening. Almost 1,000 people made submissions to the select committee considering the Bill.

Proposed changes include:

• Giving the Minister of Education unprecedented power to make changes to the curriculum without consulting the sector;
• Taking responsibility for setting all teaching profession standards and the code of conduct off the Teaching Council – the body that represents and regulates the teaching profession - and giving it to the Ministry of Education, and giving control of the Council to Ministerial appointees over representatives elected by the profession;
• Restricting exemptions for school attendance; and
• Enabling individual sponsors to run multiple charter schools.

An analysis of the submissions shows that overall, just one percent of all submitters supports the legislation. The curriculum and teaching standards proposals are opposed by 97% of submitters, while 87% oppose the school attendance and charter school proposals.

“With this level of opposition, and less than six months out from a general election, the Government does not seem to have any mandate to proceed with these changes,” says Chris Abercrombie, PPTA Te Wehengarua president.

“They are deeply contentious and constitute an unprecedented level of political interference in the education system in Aotearoa New Zealand.

“The Bill poses a deep and serious threat to the professional independence of educators and exposes students to a curriculum designed to score political points rather than helping them reach their educational goals and aspirations for their lives.

“After years of constant, large-scale, and often poorly implemented change, including a complete overhaul of our national secondary school qualification, this Bill represents yet another set of changes that are being done to, not with, the sector - the professionals who are best equipped to understand the pedagogical implications.

“In light of the overwhelming opposition to this Bill, we urge the Government to do the right thing and set it aside.”

Note: The analysis of submissions can be found in the ‘Departmental Report’ on the Bill presented to the select committee by the Ministry of Education, and available here: https://www3.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/submissions-and-advice/document/54SCEDUW_ADV_65445e46-256b-4800-37f2-08de25831691_EDUW16243/ministry-of-education-departmental-report.

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