Tolley fails schools once again

Education Minister Anne Tolley’s failure to understand her portfolio means schools with students attending Trades Academies will be unfairly financially penalised, says Labour Education spokesperson Trevor Mallard.

“News that schools who have students enrolled in Trades Academies will receive a 20 percent funding reduction per student, because those students will be attending the Trades Academy one day a week shows how little understanding the Minister has of how schools operate,” Trevor Mallard says.

“School costs don’t reduce 20 percent simply because a student is attending another institution one day a week. In fact arguably costs could increase through extra administration and career counselling costs.

“One school in the Whakatane area has reported that if it were to enrol 30 students in the scheme, it would face a funding reduction of up to $50,000 per year.

“Anne Tolley has once again shown that she has no idea how the education sector works.

“Setting up a system that financially penalises schools for enrolling students in trade’s academies is simply ludicrous.

“Clearly the Minister failed to engage with schools on the issue of funding for trade’s academies.

“National is completely out of touch with the needs of schools.

“John Key this week accused teachers of being ‘disconnected from the real world’, but its clearly the Minister of Education who is on cloud cuckoo land if she thinks schools can afford to take massive reductions in funding,” Trevor Mallard said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media