Douglas Education Bill Completely Out of Touch

Douglas Education Bill Completely Out of Touch

The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says Roger Douglas’s Education Amendment Bill shows he is completely out of touch with what is happening in education.

The ACT MP’s Education (Board of Trustee Freedom) Amendment Bill has been pulled out of the ballot. It brings back bulk funding, gives Boards of Trustees full control over the employment of teachers and introduces performance incentives for teachers and principals.

NZEI says the bill identifies a host of initiatives which have failed both in New Zealand and overseas. New Zealand already has a failed history with bulk funding.

NZEI President Frances Nelson says “during the 1990s the schools which opted into bulk funding soon realised that it didn’t work and actually penalised schools which had experienced staff. We got rid of bulk funding for a reason – because it created winner and loser schools and was not a fair way of resourcing schools.”

By giving Boards control over teacher employment each school would have to negotiate wages individually, essentially turning them into individual business units, and fragmenting the school sector.

“At a time when the government is moving to give Boards further support to better focus on delivering high quality teaching and learning, this Bill would put even more pressure on them,” says Ms Nelson.

Roger Douglas wants legislation to give schools the power to recognise and reward teachers based on subjective judgements of their effectiveness.

“If he was in touch with what is happening he would know that this government has refused to roll out a skills-based pay model for primary teachers which was developed by NZEI, the Ministry of Education and the School Trustees Association.”

“This bill harks back to a bad chapter in education and makes it worse. The New Zealand education system has moved on. Roger Douglas and his bill should as well,” says Ms Nelson.

ENDS

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