National's Private Sector Education Plans Shameful

National Party plans for private sector in education are shameful

Two centrepieces of the National Party’s education policy have been announced with proposals for more funding for private schools and an invitation for the private sector to be brought in to build and run state schools.

The policy seems a repeat of the National government’s outrageous funding of private schools in the 1990s which ballooned while state schools struggled.

For example, from 1994 to 1999 government funding for Kings College – one of the country’s wealthiest private schools – increased by a staggering 220% (from $632,000 to $2,030,000) while operations grant funding for state schools fell well behind inflation. (Instead of cutting this funding Labour capped it at a total of $40 million for all private schools when it came to government in 1999)

National’s argument that increasing funding for private schools will make them more affordable for middle-income families is nonsense. During the surge of government funding in the 1990s we are not aware of a single private school which reduced its fees. Instead these schools used government funding to enhance their exclusivity.

We find it shameful that National would prioritise funding for private schools when the needs of public schools are enormous. A QPEC seminar in November last year revealed the extent of the struggle public schools are facing with inadequate government funding. Some of the seminar findings were:

• Government funding has been decreasing as a percentage of school income over recent years.

1995 2005 2005 (percentage from parents/community)
Primary 90.5% 88.9% 11.1%
Secondary 85.8% 82.8% 17.2%

• “Local fundraising” (School fees/“voluntary donations”, fundraising and foreign fee-payers) has increased significantly under the Labour government

1999 2005
Primary (per child) $301 $474
Secondary (per child) $750 $987

• From 1995 to 2004 government funding of schools rose by 36.7% in real terms while local funding increased by a gross amount of 88.7%

• Special needs funding has decreased by 3.49% from 2001 to 2006.

National’s plan to allow the private sector to build and operate public schools is alarming. Over time it is much cheaper for the government to build and operate schools. Overseas the private sector with its profit motive to the fore has been shown to cut corners and cut quality in public schools.

Involving the private sector in public schooling overseas has never resulted in improved educational outcomes despite the spin from private sector lobbyists. Maintaining high quality education for every New Zealand child as a birthright means public money for public schools, not public money for private profit.

One positive note in National’s proposed policy is the apparent plan to abandon bulk funding of teachers’ salaries. This at least has a refreshing ring about it after the acrimony and divisive debates of the 1990s. (Compulsory bulk funding of teacher salaries was National’s policy going into the 2005 election after its policy of voluntary bulk funding was rejected by most schools in the 1990s, despite huge bribes)

John Minto

National Chairperson

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