Petition Demands Parliamentary Response

Petition Demands Parliamentary Response to Deepening Crisis Over National Standards

The education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa says politicians need to sit up and acknowledge the deepening crisis of confidence in the government’s National Standards policy.

NZEI’s community petition with 38,000 signatures is being tabled in parliament today by Labour MP Trevor Mallard.

It is a strong symbol of the serious concern held by principals, teachers, Boards of Trustees and parents that National Standards are untried and untested, their implementation is being rushed, they could label children as failures and they are not the answer to underachievement.

It will go to the Education and Science Select Committee for consideration.

NZEI President Frances Nelson says all political parties must acknowledge the need for a government response to the deepening crisis of confidence in National Standards from the public and from the education sector.

“Our petition outlines concerns about National Standards – concerns which are continuing to mount. More and more schools and communities are coming forward saying they do not want to implement the Standards until they can be assured they are robust and will actually make a positive difference to children’s learning.”

NZEI hopes the select committee will consider the petition and listen carefully to the voices of the thousands of people who have expressed their concerns about National Standards. Earlier in the year NZEI took 1,000 school community statements to parliament echoing the message of the petition.

“This issue is not going away,” says Frances Nelson. “It’s time the government engaged with principals, teachers and school communities to restore confidence and achieve positive changes for teaching and learning.”

ENDS

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