Education Minister Nick Smith has got it wrong again when he attacks Labour’s schools funding policy given that it is
his government’s insistence on pushing the bulk funding scheme that has led to the fiasco that exists and causes so much
unfairness.
With all the pressing issues facing schools, they are crying out for innovative political leadership. So it is somewhat
depressing that the Minister identifies bulk funding as the crunch education issue this election.
“Bulk funding allows only some schools to get extra money,” NZEI Te Riu Roa national president Darrell Ward said. “That
is unfair.”
“Under the guise of self-management, bulk funding allows some schools to receive more tax money than they require to pay
for state-provided teachers,” he said. “That is unfair.”
“Surely a system that distributed extra funding to all schools on a fair basis is the system all New Zealanders would
prefer,” Darrell Ward added.
END