Pathways to a Grim Future

“The future is suddenly looking considerably bleaker for the young minds of New Zealand,” said a Libertarianz spokesman today following the launch of Trevor Mallard's 10-year early childhood education plan, tagged ‘Pathways to the Future’.

“Mr Mallard's plan," observes Peter Osborne, Libertarianz Associate Spokesman for Education Deregulation, "involves wasting yet more taxpayers' money bankrolling a scheme amounting to little more than grooming youngsters for his factory schools - readying children for a school career of mediocrity. He will succed only in creating even more dimwits than he is already churning out.”

Mr Osborne says that Mallard's stated goal to have all early childhood teachers forcibly re-train by 2012 (they must all, says Mallard, hold a state Diploma of Teaching by then) is "a further step down a pathway of mediocrity. Mr Mallard is clearly signalling that he intends to stamp out private providers and any alternative teaching methods to the mainstream mediocracy; a continuation of his quest to ensure that the state has total control over every school in the country, and hence over the mind of every New Zealander. Private providers are already struggling to cope with existing requirements for forced retraining," says Osborne, "Mr Mallard intends now to tighten the screws on the private providers and their staff."

“This isn’t education,” says Osborne. “This is thuggery perpetrated by a government against it’s own populace. It must stop.”

An angry Mr Osborne continues, “Children are getting the spirit and individuality knocked out of them thanks to the factory schools of Mr Mallard and his predecessors. We shouldn't ask why as a consequence we have such large youth suicide and youth crime rates," says Osborne. "Instead, we should ask why Mr Mallard and his ilk have been given such power to destroy, and why we give them even more power."

Mr Osborne concludes: “Libertarianz will leave parents alone to decide for themselves the best education for their children. We will disembowel The Ministry of Education, and hand over ownership of the state's factory schools to parents and boards of trustees to run as they see fit - competing with private providers on a level playing field. Taxpayers will keep their earnings, as is their inalienable right, to spend as they see fit. Libertarianz will allow education to diversify and flourish in total freedom through the free market.”

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