Education goals must be dropped by Auckland Council

Targets to dramatically lift the education qualifications and participation rates of young Aucklanders must be dropped from the Auckland Council’s 30-year spatial plan after the targets failed to gain support during the plan’s first round of public consultation, says Auckland Councillor Cameron Brewer.

The ambitious education targets were proposed in the spatial plan’s discussion document with public submissions closing on 31 May.

“The education targets are arguably all quite worthy, but I don’t think we’ve had one person specifically supporting the council to adopt them. Instead, a number of people have told the council to focus on core business and not to take over the role of central government. Some see these new targets as a very worrying development,” says Mr Brewer.

The proposed education targets in the discussion document’s ‘People and Quality of Life’ section (point 152, page 56) are:

• Minimum 80% participation in early childhood education Auckland wide within three years.
• 100% of young people leaving school are ‘work ready’ with a clear plan for future education, training or a job.
• 80% of school leavers with Level 1 NCEA within 10 years.
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“We need to remember we are a local council first and foremost. What’s more, we are operating in a very tight financial environment. We can’t be all things to everybody nor should we promise things we can’t deliver. These targets belong in a political party’s manifesto for the upcoming General Election. A local authority simply hasn’t got the mandate or ability to deliver in the area of education.

“The public wants us to spend their rates on improving council-owned infrastructure and council services. Many people have made it clear that they don’t want the Super City turning itself into some kind of state government. We simply can’t afford to stray into other areas. People want us focused and hence the likes of education targets need to be dropped for good.”

Mr Brewer said other proposals in the discussion document such as ‘investigate the option of Auckland Council having a cadetship scheme’ and producing ‘a children and youth impact report for all council projects and programmes’ are also beyond the realm of council business, potentially very costly, and need to be cut out of the final 30-year plan.

“In drafting the spatial plan the council’s now got to show it is listening to the public. The council’s leadership must demonstrate that it is committed to being a great local authority and not an emerging state government. Keeping out of the Ministry of Education’s business would be a good start,” says Cameron Brewer.

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