NZEI backs call for fairer investment in young children

Immediate release

26 November 2013

NZEI backs call for fairer investment in young children  

Parliament’s  Health Select Committee has sent a clear message to the government that it needs to put more focus on quality early childhood education (ECE)  to address  child poverty and social inequity.

NZEI Te Riu Roa National President Judith Nowotarski has welcomed the Committee’s call for early childhood services to be included within a quality public education system.

She says it is wrong and unfair that society’s most vulnerable citizens – children under five  - are more likely to live in poverty than any other New Zealanders.   Around 18 percent of children are estimated to live in poverty, compared to about three percent of the country’s elderly.*

“Children are the forgotten victims of government policies that have failed to address key issues such as family income and employment, health, housing and education.”

The committee’s report has called on the government to put more focus and investment into the early years of life saying that spending money on children pays big dividends later in life.

Judith Nowotarski says one starting point would be to reverse the government’s 2010 cuts to qualified and registered early childhood teacher funding.  The government now funds only up to 80% qualified staffing, with 50% being the mandatory minimum.

“Kindergartens in particular, have been struggling to maintain their policy of ensuring that all teachers are qualified following government cuts to teacher funding.  Three year olds deserve and need great teachers as much as 13 year olds.

“This committee report is a wake-up call to the government that it cannot continue to ignore the needs of vulnerable children.”

*”The challenge of securing Durable Reduction in Child Poverty in New Zealand “– Prof Jonathan Boston, Victoria University of Wellington, May 2013

ENDS

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