Government Class Size Policy in Tatters
 
The Government’s announcement that it will cap teacher cuts at a maximum of two per school is an admission that its policy of increasing class sizes is in tatters, says NZEI Te Riu Roa National President Ian Leckie.
 
 “Does the Government really believe it can paper over a policy as wrong as this by announcing that the maximum teacher loss in any school will be two? Given the strength of parent concern it should stand back and reverse this policy altogether,” he says.
 
 “Any parent whose child is at a school which has to shave two teachers off its staff will be rightly worried.  Everybody knows that bigger class sizes mean less individual time teachers will have with students.  Quite simply, that will affect the quality of teaching that any school can provide."
 
“There is no way around that fact,” says Mr Leckie.
 
“To take an arbitrary number, like two, and then develop policy around it just beggars belief.”
 
“What this is showing is that the Government has no clear vision for improving the quality of public education.  It is simply playing a numbers game.”
 
“This is one of the worst examples of poor, badly thought-through policy being made on the hoof. And unfortunately, those children who are already struggling in our school system will be the big losers.”
 
“It is also very concerning that the Ministry continues to use misleading information to justify its bigger class size policy. "
 
The  Prime Minister today talked about a “massive increase” in the number of teachers in the past decade and the Minister of Education claims student achievement has “plateaued and declined” in the same period.
 
 Neither of those is true.
 
“The number of teachers grew from 46585 to 52460, about 12 %, while the student roll increased by 2%, and New Zealand students now achieve significantly better at both NCEA Level 1 and 2.”
 
Teacher numbers were increased in primary schools in the past decade because of the introduction of 1:15 ratios in new entrant classes and classroom release time for planning and assessment - both moves to increase the quality of teaching and learning.
 
“This is the first time in living memory that any Government has moved to increase class sizes in our schools.  It is vital that it reconsiders this poor policy advice before it is too late to reverse the damage to our public education system.”

ENDS

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