“QPEC Doesn’t Buy the Rhetoric Behind Charter Schools”

“QPEC Doesn’t Buy the Rhetoric Behind Charter Schools”

Tuesday 21 May 2013

Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, has again attempted to defend the ideology behind the introduction of the charter school concept into New Zealand.

In today’s NZ Herald, (Tuesday 21 May) Minister Parata makes the well-worn claim that Partnership Schools (as they have to be called in New Zealand, because every public school already has a charter), will be “efficient and achieve results, and they would be held to a public contract.”

Unfortunately, the Minister failed, yet again, to produce any substantive evidence that charter schools, on the whole, do better for students than regular public schools in the overseas countries where this experiment has failed.

She also claimed that the mere existence of a “contract” means that Partnership Schools will be more accountable than public schools.

QPEC National Chairperson, Bill Courtney, finds the timing of this statement unfortunate, in the week when school trustee elections are due to take place.

“The election, by parents, of the trustees that govern every public school in New Zealand is the largest democratic exercise that takes place in our country.  Over 100,000 of us have served as school trustees since the introduction of self-governing schools in 1989.  It is direct accountability at the Board table that gives parents, through their elected representatives, the strongest voice possible influencing their children’s education.”

QPEC also doesn’t swallow the idea that “more choice” is the solution to raising student achievement.  It’s like arguing that another 50 or so SKY TV channels will finally give us something decent to watch on TV.

QPEC’s position on the introduction of Partnership Schools is clear:

1.            No substantive case has been put forward to justify the introduction of the charter school concept into NZ.  Where is the Isaac Report?

2.            NZ already has “arguably the most aggressive school choice system in the world” and the vast majority of NZ parents already believe they send their children to the “school of their choice”;

3.            Overseas evidence on charter school performance is inconclusive, at best;

4.            The argument that charter schools lead to greater innovation is weak;

5.            Specific concerns have been expressed about the design features of NZ Partnership Schools, around non-registered teachers, curriculum and lack of accountability;

6.            There is real concern that the introduction of Partnership Schools will undermine the strength of NZ’s public education system to the detriment of those students who attend public schools;

7.            Why are we doing this?  What is the real agenda?

The answer to the last question is evident from Sir Roger Douglas’s op-ed piece last week in the NZ Herald: the introduction of the “market mechanism”.

QPEC stands firmly opposed to the market theory in education and is committed to strengthening the public education system with one goal in mind: a broad, quality education for every child in every school on every day.

ENDS

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