Hon Bill English National Party Education Spokesman
20 March 2006
Parents first, not bureaucrats
National's Education spokesman, Bill English, says it's typical of Labour to consider spending millions on a database
for bureaucrats to monitor children's progress while refusing parents access to relevant information which is already on
hand.
"Parents are the biggest influence in their children's lives. Parents won't take as much of an interest if it's too
difficult to find out about their child and their child's school.
"The irony is that the Government already has this information, it just won't share it with parents."
The School Smart website is run by the Ministry of Education which collects and compares up to 20 indicators from
schools, including numbers of suspensions, operating deficits, roll decline and student achievement.
Mr English says parents should have access to this information so they can make informed choices for their children.
"Before the Government spends a single dollar on a super-database so that social agencies can track children, they
should make the information they already have available to parents so they can use it to make informed choices for their
children."
ENDS