Gerry Brownlee National Education Spokesperson

25 July 2001

Mallard steals credit

It's typical of Education Minister Trevor Mallard to 'jump out in front of the parade and start waving a banner' by claiming credit for the improvement in literacy standards from 1996 to 2000, National's Education spokesperson Gerry Brownlee said today.

"All Mr Mallard did in his first few months as Education Minister was remove bulk funding and start Labour's process of clawing back the freedoms of Tomorrow's Schools.

"None of his actions were focused on the learning needs of children. Now he has the gall to claim credit for results achieved in a period in which nothing he did could have had any impact.

"The literacy strategy put in place by National aimed to ensure that 'every child could read, write and do maths for success by age nine' has been a great success. Our primary schools put a real focus on the basics and now that's paying off in terms of better literacy standards.

"The 'Feed the Mind' campaign, launched by former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, has encouraged parents and the community to play a part in helping children learn.

"Mr Mallard can start crowing about results when he's had an influence on them. In the meantime, I suggest he concern himself with sorting out the mess that he's created with the National Certificate of Educational Achievement so our secondary students are encouraged to strive for excellence in their learning," Mr Brownlee said.

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