The National-led Government is committed to raising student achievement. We want all our kids to have the skills they need to succeed. But we don’t want to create unnecessary angst for parents, which is why we’ve decided not to proceed with the changes to the teacher:student funding ratios announced as part of Budget 2012.
We remain firmly focused on raising student achievement and ensuring five out of five kids are succeeding. We continue to believe that investing in quality teaching and professional leadership is the best way to do this. We’re still injecting an extra $512 million to help raise achievement in education over the next four years.
Over the coming weeks our Education Minister will work with education sector organisations to discuss quality issues and how to raise student achievement.
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June 14, 2012 at 10:36 am
Dave Kennedy
I look forward to this attempt to finally engage with the profession, Eric, perhaps we will be able to deal with the damage that has already been done:
-$25 million cut from Ministry of Education budget.
-Flawed National Standards introduced without a trial or evidence base.
-Curriculum narrowed by focus on literacy and numeracy and advisors sacked from other learning areas like science, technology and art.
-$35 million given to private schools.
-Charter Schools introduced despite limited evidence of success elsewhere and based on an agreement with a political party that only achieved 1% of the vote.
-Operations grants not increased to keep up with inflation restricting the ability for schools to pay school support staff.
-Schools punished for not embracing National Standards by having professional development denied.
-Schools and teachers are blamed for underachievement while factors like poverty are ignored.
-The new Education Ministry head (appointed by the National Government from England) refuses to collaborate with the education union NZEI on professional matters.
-Residential schools for children with behavioural needs are being closed.
-Health Camps are being closed.
-Schools that question government policies are threatened with having their boards sacked and be replaced by commissioners.
-Expectation that schools should only provide healthy food wiped.
-Funding for fruit in low decile schools cut.
-Performance pay for teachers to be introduced despite models used in other countries have caused a decline in collegiality and have not improved student achievement.
-PPPs (private, public partnerships) introduced to build schools despite Treasury advising there was little value in this approach.
-Teaching qualifications will be a post graduate qualification yet students in a fourth year of study will not receive government support and students will have to cover all costs themselves.
August 13, 2012 at 3:25 pm
Stanley Road
Kennedy, when you say ‘engage with the profession’, do you mean ‘engage with the unions’?
August 20, 2012 at 10:56 am
Dave Kennedy
Stanley you mention this as though it is some sort of shocking scenario. The New Zealand Educational Institute was originally formed around 130 years ago as a professional institute and only became a union when it was necessary to have a bargaining agent for agreement negotiations. I myself have been involved in curriculum writing teams and reviews of special education guidelines as part of my NZEI activities. NZEI represents around 95+ % of primary teachers as well as early childhood teachers and support staff. I think in 150 years we have only been on strike twice. We are not a militant union and negotiate our agreements with supporting research and good faith. If we do come across as otherwise it is when, like under the present government, we are deliberately ignored while ideological changes are being pushed through.
In most other high performing countries in education there is a strong and respectful partnership between teacher unions and governments. http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2011/05/tolley-trashes-new-zealands-educational.html