Hon Bill English
National Party Education Spokesman
12 October 2006
Labour stands in the way of schools vision
The Labour Government is the biggest obstacle to achieving the vision for schools outlined in the ‘Students First’
document released today, says National’s Education spokesman Bill English.
“Labour still believes in all-intrusive centralised control of the education system, where the big decisions are made by
the Minister and union leaders.
“More and more principals are telling me they can’t be innovative and flexible because they no longer have the power to
make decisions based on the unique needs of their students and communities.
“Labour refuses to set clear national standards and to make the information about school performance available to
parents that would enable them to make well-informed decisions which would, in turn, drive the necessary changes in the
education system.
“Steve Maharey’s new-found faith in ‘personalised education’ is a nonsense as long as he refuses to provide the freedom
and resources to let schools evolve faster.
“The dead hand of bureaucracy and cosy consensus between Labour and the unions is holding back the momentum for change,”
says Mr English.
ENDS