Media Release
31 Jan 2008
Schools not set to become prisons – PPTA
Suggestions that secondary schools are set to become prisons with students shackled to their desks until they turn 18
are simply ludicrous, PPTA president Robin Duff says.
Mr Duff is disappointed that misunderstandings of the Realising Youth Potential (RYP) programme, announced by Helen
Clark yesterday, have led to a debate over whether young people should be forced to stay in school until they are 18.
“Not once did the proposal mention children would be forced to remain in secondary education. Instead it focuses on a
collaborative approach with schools, employers and training institutions to keep young people learning outside of the
classroom,” he said.
“This is already happening, and it works”.
Programmes such as Gateway – a successful scheme that offers senior secondary students structured workplace learning -
were designed to help young people transition into the workforce, Mr Duff said.
This proposal will not prevent young people from entering the workforce. What it will do is help provide them with
skills and training while they are there.
“It is a shame that such an important issue has been turned into the ‘John vs Helen show’, when what we should be doing
is focusing on getting the resources to make these programmes work.
“This is a vital issue that we are pleased both parties are debating, but we don’t want to see important aspects buried
by politics,” he said.
Mr Duff also disagreed with claims that the RYP did not address the issue of students as young as 13 and 14 leaving
school.
“Youth Apprenticeship programmes, which were previously only available to senior students, will now target Year 9 and 10
students who may not be responding well to conventional education,” he said.
Mr Duff called for more debate about National’s plan, which would give all 16 and 17 year olds free access to any
education providers, and could return the country to the “bums on seats” approach of the past.
“It will take us right back to where we were in the 1990s with twilight golf. I am rather apprehensive about the quality
assurances promised,” he said.
The plan was also naive because it relied on the fantasy that a difficult student will suddenly become a model pupil
when placed in a different form of education, Mr Duff said.
“It takes a lot more time and resources to turn a child around. There is nothing new about this situation. There have
always been students who don’t want to be in school and there always will be. What we need to do now is make sure we
have the resources to work with them in a successful way.
“It is far more sensible to focus on going forward with a programme that experience and research has already proved
works very well,” Mr Duff said.
ENDS
For more information on programmes that really work, see:
http://www.ppta.org.nz/internal.asp?CategoryID=100006
http://www.tec.govt.nz/templates/standard.aspx?id=469