Hon Jan Tinetti

Minister of Education

After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment.

“National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education Minister Jan Tinetti said.

“There was also a word missing from Luxon’s speech – funding. National haven’t said how much their changes will cost, how they will resource them and what their commitments to teachers’ pay is.

“National’s track record on education is one of serious underinvestment. Run down schools and classrooms and stagnant teachers’ pay which has resulted in teacher shortages and a demoralised workforce.

“Nothing in today’s announcement shows they're prepared to back our kids and lift outcomes, or put up the funding to seriously invest in their future.

“Forcing children to do an hour each of reading, writing and maths every day isn’t going to make them enjoy it or learn better, and more intensive testing isn’t going to make school a place they want to be.

“The curriculum shouldn’t be a political football and changed every three years.

“It looks like the National party are bringing back their failed experiment of National Standards. These kids’ learning has already suffered but today they announced they want to revive this zombie of the past.

“It’s just buzz words and sound bites to paper over the cracks in the National Party’s understanding of what is happening in our schools in this country.”

“Labour has invested in our kids, upgraded nearly every school in the country, improved teachers’ pay and introduced programmes that help parents and make kids want to be at school.

“Labour has a plan to properly fund education and make sure it works for every student. Schools need certainty and stability, not soundbites,” Jan Tinetti said.

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