22 February 2018
More education ideology from Labour
Labour’s ideological opposition to privately delivered services has reared its ugly head with the removal of a clause in
the Education (Tertiary Education and Other Matters) Amendment Bill that treats public and private providers of tertiary
education equally, National’s Tertiary Education spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.
“The clause established the principle for providers of tertiary education with similar offerings and outcomes for
students, no matter whether they are public or private providers, to receive the same rate of funding.
“Education Minister Chris Hipkins has said publicly that private training establishments often do a better job than the
polytechnics.
“So it makes no sense that he would now punish them by removing the clause that ensures they receive equal funding to
their public counterparts.
“I can see no reason why the Government has removed this clause from the Bill other than pure ideology.”
ends