“ACT supports St Cuthbert’s for swimming against the tide and saying that the Government’s curriculum isn’t good enough for students. If it’s not good enough for St Cuthbert’s it isn’t good enough for other schools either,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.

“This has laid down the gauntlet to the Government. Schools have told me their feedback against the curriculum refresh wasn’t listened to, if the Government doesn’t want to listen to educators then schools will rightfully take educating into their own hands.

“The curriculum does not contain the academic knowledge that students require to navigate the future. It merges and minimises time spent on key topics such as Chemistry and Biology, guts the Math curriculum to almost entirely remove Algebra, and prioritises social engineering and treaty politics ahead of learning key skills.

“What’s concerning is that while some schools will have the resources to break away from the Government’s model, other schools won’t and their students will be left behind.

“We can’t write off children from poorer households. If you’re born into a home with fewer resources, there should be a place in the community where you can go to get those skills. Unfortunately, the nonsense coming out of the Ministry of Education means kids who don’t have a choice aren’t going to get the education they deserve.

“I expect many schools will look at St Cuthbert’s revised curriculum and start adapting themselves, ACT encourages them to do so. Education has to be about setting children up for a bright future, not blindly following sub-standard curriculum set out by Ministry bureaucrats.

"If we want students to leave school well-equipped, and if we want to have a high-productivity, high-wage economy, we must restore basic educational monitoring so that students cannot avoid numeracy and literacy requirements. We need a return to a system where all students are getting the basic skills they need to succeed.”

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