Press Release 30 January 2002
For immediate release
Suggestions by Bill English that his party may abandon the decile funding system only demonstrate that National is
determined to repeat the mistakes of the past, says Liz Gordon, Chairperson of the Education and Science Select
Committee.
She is also concerned that National is announcing new policy before parents and teachers have had the chance to finalise
their submissions to a select committee inquiry into decile funding.
"Before the decile system was introduced the large additional costs faced by schools in poor areas could not be met. It
was the crisis caused by these funding disasters that lead to the introduction of decile funding by a National
Government," said Liz Gordon who is also the Alliance education spokesperson.
"National pressed the Select Committee for a review of decile funding and the committee agreed that there were a number
of issues worth considering, such as the question whether the current funding of large urban decile one schools is
adequate," said Dr Gordon.
Submissions to the inquiry close on the 14th of February.
"National is already making decisions before those involved in education have had their submissions heard. One can only
conclude that they have little regard for the views of parents and teachers.
"There is evidence from the National Education Monitoring Project that indicates that literacy achievements fell in the
early part of the 1990s. This is very likely to be due to inadequate funding during this period. National introduced the
decile funding system in 1995 after a series of school funding disasters.
"Now National leader Bill English says that poor schools get too much money and suggests that the decile funding system
should be abandoned. They appear to be determined to repeat the mistakes of the past.
"There is every chance that 'lateral' thinking will be a code word for vouchers.
"I wonder what previous National education ministers Wyatt Creech and Lockwood Smith think of their leader's latest
musings?", said Dr Gordon.
ends