Educators take better funding message to MP's office

What: Protest outside National MP Todd McClay’s Rotorua electorate office

Where: 1301 Amohau Street, Rotorua

When: 12.15pm, Wednesday 28 September

Principals, primary and early childhood teachers and support staff will stage a protest outside National’s MP Todd McClay’s Rotorua electorate office today, calling on the Government to increase education funding and opposing the Government’s proposal to reintroduce bulk funding of schools.

The protest will close off the NZEI Te Riu Roa annual conference in Rotorua, and is a preview of a bus tour and actions planned in the next school term to draw parents and the public’s attention to education underfunding and National’s radical education reform agenda.

“Schools and early childhood centres need better funding not bulk funding,” said NZEI Te Rui Roa President Louise Green.

“Today’s action is indicative of the sort of activity our children’s educators have committed to in order to win better funding and stop the Government’s radical education reform agenda.

“Educators are fired up for better funding for schools and early childhood centres. Today’s action sends a message to the Government of the kinds of activity we are prepared to take to win a better outcome for kids' learning.

“We will be launching a better funding bus tour in the major centres at the beginning of term four that will be talking to parents outside school gates and educators will be meeting with their local MPs about the Government funding proposals.

“New Zealand children deserve the best education in the world and we can afford to provide it. That’s why the funding review needs to increase the total amount of funding, rather than just shifting the same amount of money around the system creating winners and losers.

“The Government’s bulk funding proposal is bad for children’s learning and should be taken off the table. It will lead to larger class sizes and fewer teachers by removing the current teacher student ratio protections.

“We are getting a great response from parents and the public to our better funding campaign. In term four we will be stepping things up to stop National’s radical reforms so we can protect our kids from National’s ideological experiments.”

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