10 September 2004
Higher tertiary tuition fees and school sector reforms the best ways to enhance the 'right to education'
Higher tertiary education tuition fees and policy reforms at the school level - including parental choice - are the best
ways to enhance the 'right to education' for all New Zealanders, an Education Forum submission to the Human Rights
Commission (HRC) argues.
The HRC last week released its first-ever report on the state of human rights in New Zealand, including a sizeable
section on the right to education.
The Education Forum submission argues that a policy of flexible and higher tertiary education tuition fees, accompanied
by targeted assistance, would enhance the right to education - more than current government policies do - by helping
broaden tertiary education participation and properly resourcing institutions.
Education Forum policy advisor Norman LaRocque said it was important that people were also well-served at earlier levels
of education. Focusing efforts only at the tertiary education level amounted to shutting the barn door after the horse
had bolted.
Among the school sector reforms proposed are increasing parental choice, lifting teacher pay, giving schools greater
self-management, national assessment and shifting the government's role from owning schools to funding and regulating
them.
"A key role of government in ensuring the right to education should be to promote 'public' education rather than
publicly-owned schools. Public education should be defined by whether it serves the public interest, rather than where
it takes place."
The Right to Education submission is downloadable as a PDF document from
http://www.educationforum.org.nz/documents/submissions/150304_hrc.pdf
ENDS