11. Dr ASHRAF CHOUDHARY (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Education
What reports has he received on support for New Zealand’s public education system?
Hon CHRIS CARTER (Minister of Education) Link to this
I have seen reports advocating that funding should be almost doubled for private schools. This would remove funds from the 96 percent of pupils who participate in State education. In a recent television interview the National leader, John Key, called the current funding policy “elitist”. I assume this means that Mr Key does not agree with decile funding, which provides extra resources for the most at risk pupils. No doubt his comments reflect that old Tory philosophy of “reward the rich, punish the poor”.
Dr Ashraf Choudhary Link to this
What other reports has the Minister seen about proposals to increase public funding for private schools?
I have seen universally negative comments. For example, the president of the New Zealand Educational Institute, Frances Nelson, said that National’s policy did not make sense, and that “The taxpayer and the children of New Zealand deserve better,”. The New Zealand Secondary Principals Council chairman, Arthur Graves, a fine principal from the West Coast, said that the policy is “a deliberate attempt to undermine and rob public schools and essentially provide a tax break for the rich,”. Under Labour, education funding is up 80 percent since 1999. That is $5 billion more each year towards ensuring that every child gets a quality education—not just those children whose parents can afford to pay private school fees