Children paying the price for charter school stitch up
29 September 2014
New Zealand children will be paying a high price for a one-seat deal between ACT and National, with an expansion of the
beleaguered charter school system says education union NZEI Te Riu Roa.
“While new MP David Seymour has missed out on ministerial responsibilities, John Key has given the green light for the
equally untested and unaccountable charter schools model to be expanded under the new government,” said NZEI Te Riu Roa
President Judith Nowotarski."This is despite a lack of evidence that these schools lift the success of education systems
anywhere in the world."
“There is no appetite for the schools from parents or the community, and there are significant concerns about the
charter schools experiment in its infancy.”
“The charter schools policy continues to be described as a trial, but more and more charter schools are being rolled out
before any independent review has been completed,” said Judith Nowotarski.
“More public money is being thrown at charter schools – up to four times the per-student rate of public schools, and
millions of dollars of establishment funding – all to appease a political party that failed to secure even 1% of party
votes at the last election.
Mrs Nowotarski said these schools pose a considerable threat to nearby public schools that don’t have the funding to
supply the same bells and whistles as the favoured charter schools, and that charter schools retain their funding
despite their rolls dropping below “guaranteed” minimum numbers.
ends