Hon Bill English National Party Education Spokesman

3 May 2006

More transparency would decrease criticism of teachers

Criticism of teachers would be greatly reduced if parents had easier access to information about what goes on in the classroom, says National Party Education spokesman Bill English.

He is commenting on the release of a Ministry of Education-commissioned report that says teachers feel they are fighting an 'accumulating lack of respect' from students, parents and the public.

Mr English says the community will continue to be critical of teachers and schools when they are left in the dark about children's progress and a school's performance, relative to similar schools.

"The Government is sitting on a huge amount of information on schools and students but its policy is to keep it from parents and the community

"Teachers have complained about a lack of respect for years. The only way to put a stop to it is to open the black box of education and let parents see so they can replace the criticism with a genuine interest in the complex and usually successful work of teachers," says Mr English.

ENDS

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