Time for Charter schools to submit 'woefully inadequate'

MEDIA RELEASE

Wednesday 08 August 2018

Unreasonable deadline has Charter Schools scrambling to provide feedback on Minister’s late amendments to Education Amendment Bill.

On the 3rd of July 2018, the Minister of Education, Hon Chris Hipkins, proposed significant amendments to the Education Amendment Bill which ensures no new Partnership Schools | Kura Hourua (Charter Schools) are opened. These proposed amendments were provided to Partnership Schools | Kura Hourua and E Tipu e Rea in the form of Supplementary Order Paper no. 50, issued on 01 August 2018, almost one month later. E Tipu e Rea and the Partnership Schools were then given 3 working days to provide submissions on these amendments back to the Education and Workforce Select Committee.

‘For only 3 working days to be allowed for Charter Schools to respond to the Minister’s amendments is woefully inadequate,’ said Chief Executive of E Tipu e Rea, Graeme Osborne.

‘Of course the schools were grateful for the opportunity to provide feedback, but to allow 3 working days for a large number of interested parties to respond meaningfully, particularly given the significance of the amendments proposed, simply wasn’t long enough,’ said Osborne.

E Tipu e Rea and the majority of Charter Schools and the Establishment Boards of Trustees of the replacement state schools are seeking the deadline for submissions to be extended to 17 August 2018which is still within the Select Committee’s deadline of 3 September 2018 to report back. The opportunity to urgently consult with Ministry of Education officials, and to be given access to relevant policy documents supporting the argument for the Minister’s amendments are also sought.

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