Serious Attacks On Teachers Rise

Thursday 2 Oct 2003 Deborah Coddington Press Releases -- Education

ACT New Zealand Education Spokesman Deborah Coddington today said the classroom had become unsafe for teachers, with new information revealing that last year 395 children attacked teachers.

"Answers to my written Parliamentary Questions show that, of that 395, 142 of these attacks were considered to be serious enough for the students to be suspended," Miss Coddington said.

"This 15 percent increase in serious attacks by students on teachers, between 2001 and 2002, is of serious concern. The classroom is becoming unsafe for teachers. Education Minister Trevor Mallard has failed to protect teachers from violent students.

"Sadly, these figures highlight yet another reason why we're finding it impossible to keep good teachers in the classroom. During this period the school roll grew by just 1.9 percent. The Education Ministry has not yet released figures for the first three terms of 2003 - who knows how many more serious attacks we will see this year?

"ACT believes the abolishment of zoning and devolved funding to schools will allow each individual community to find the combination of policies that solves this problem, and will allow parents the freedom to take their children out of unsafe schools," Miss Coddington said.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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