Death Knell For Tomorrow's Schools
From now on 'Tomorrow' means back to the 1970s for New Zealand's schools, National's Education spokesperson Gerry Brownlee said today.
The Education and Science Select Committee's report on the Education Amendment Bill (No 2) was tabled in Parliament today. The Bill forces schools to do more planning and reporting to the Ministry of Education.
"This Bill is about straight-jacketed conformity. More forms, more tick boxes and more stamp-licking bureaucrats will be the only outcomes for schools.
"This Government is forcing schools to focus on the needs of bureaucrats in Wellington rather than on the needs of children and their parents.
"The Government's proposals are nothing more than red tape that will take teachers away from the classroom. Under the Bill, school plans will have to be submitted to the Ministry of Education and ticked off by a bureaucrat before a school can do its job.
"There is nothing in this legislation that encourages schools to be more responsive to the needs of the local community.
"This Bill betrays the progressive direction our schools have taken since Tomorrow's Schools was introduced more than a decade ago," Mr Brownlee said.
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