Media Release 17 April 2013
Attention: EDUCATION AND POLITICAL REPORTERS

GOVERNMENT CHARTS PERILOUS COURSE FOR SCHOOLS

The announcement that amendments to the Education Act have been recommended by the select committee which would allow corporatised charter schools to be established in New Zealand signals a sad day for New Zealand’s world class education system.

‘No one with experience and knowledge in our education system is calling for charter schools,’ says Philip Harding, President of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation.

‘No academic experts, no teaching professionals and no parents are calling for the introduction of corporatisation into our New Zealand public school system,’ says Harding.

The Government has long said its focus for education is on the children who don’t yet enjoy success in our current system.

‘What is disturbing is that the Government is prepared to undermine our entire world-class public education system through which well over eighty percent of Kiwi kids currently excel, to introduce a failed corporatized American model of charter schools in the hope of getting success for all kids,’ said Harding.

‘It is inexplicable that we would head in such a direction when the model of education we have is held in such high regard internationally. Our model of high quality public education will be completely unravelled by corporatising it. We risk losing all community involvement and local control of our schools,’ said Harding.

‘Parents would no longer have any say in their children’s school curriculum. That is not the will of the majority of New Zealand parents who are actively involved in a model of high quality self-managing schools,’ he said.

The charter school policy developed over a cup of tea with the ACT party is bizarre and no New Zealander ever voted for it.

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