Safeguards Needed to Protect Public Education

Safeguards Needed to Protect Public Education Against Private Investment

The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says safeguards must be put in place to protect public education from profit-driven private investment.

The government will reportedly decide this month whether to approve the private sector building and maintaining a primary school by 2013.

Schools and their buildings are at the heart of our communities and are important public assets. NZEI President Frances Nelson says PPPs in schools raise big questions.

“For example who would control use of the school hall or gym? Would they be leased out to other users for profit? We need to be sure that schools can continue to use and adapt their buildings and facilities in the way they want - in a way that is best for teaching and learning and for the school communities.”

“We must also ensure that schools are not compromised by negligent or financially strapped investors, or that education is used to brand private and possibly foreign investment,” she says.

NZEI believes that when it comes to education, teaching and learning should come before profit, and allowing a school to be built as part of a PPP should not be considered a “worthwhile experiment” as the Infrastructure Minister Bill English has said.

“If the government is going to pursue a public private partnership agenda in education, safeguards must be put in place to protect the delivery and quality of public education in New Zealand,” says Frances Nelson.

ENDS

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