Government Charts Perilous Course for Schools
The announcement that amendments to the Education Act have passed into law allowing Corporatized charter schools to be
established in New Zealand signals a sad day for New Zealand’s world class education system.
‘No one with experience and knowledge in our education system is calling for charter schools,’ says Philip Harding,
President of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation.
‘No academic experts, no teaching professionals and no parents are calling for the introduction of corporatisation into
our New Zealand public school system,’ says Harding.
The Government has long said its focus for education is on the children who don’t yet enjoy success in our current
system.
‘What is disturbing is that the Government is prepared to undermine our entire world-class public education system
through which well over eighty per-cent of Kiwi kids currently excel, to introduce a failed corporatized American model
of charter schools in the hope of getting success for all kids,’ said Harding.
‘It is inexplicable that we would head in such a direction when the model of education we have is held in such high
regard internationally. Our model of high quality public education will be completely unravelled by corporatizing it. We
risk losing all community involvement and local control of our schools,’ said Harding.
‘Parents would no longer have any say in their children’s school curriculum. That is not the will of the majority of New
Zealand parents who are actively involved in a model of high quality self-managing schools,’ he said.
The charter school policy developed over a cup of tea with the ACT party is bizarre and no New Zealander ever voted for
it.
For more information visit www.nzpf.ac.nz
ENDS