10. ANNE TOLLEY (National—East Coast) Link to this
to the Minister of Education
Can he confirm that according to the report on Ministry of Education staffing that he received in June of this year, the number of fulltime-equivalents excluding the Special Education Service was 578 in 1999, and 1,223 as at 31 March 2008; if not, why not?
Hon CHRIS CARTER (Minister of Education) Link to this
I can confirm those figures, and I remind the House again that 70 percent of the new staff are working on front-line services like special education, truancy, disruptive behaviour, and professional development programmes in information and communications technology, literacy, and numeracy.
Can the Minister confirm that if there were 578 fulltime-equivalent staff, not including special education staff, in 1999 and there are now 1,223 fulltime-equivalents, not including special education staff—as at 31 March 2008—then that is a percentage increase in staff in the ministry of 111.59 percent over 9 years?
I can confirm that, and I also remind the House that 70 percent of those staff are working in front-line services where they are helping our kids.
So having finally got that answer with confirmation of the mathematics from the Minister, can he say why, according to his own briefing, the Ministry of Education, excluding special education staff, has grown at the ballooning rate of 111 percent since 1999, while the number of teachers funded by the Government has grown by only 13 percent?
Hon Trevor MallardThere are 6,000 more above roll growth than there would have been if the Labour Government had not been in power. I would like that member to tell this House whether I should cut the staff provided for newborn hearing tests, disruptive behaviour management, export education, or truancy. Where does she want the cut to be made?
Dr Ashraf Choudhary Link to this
What reports has the Minister seen about the effectiveness of the additional staff employed by the Ministry of Education since 1999?
I have seen a lot of reports from very grateful principals, but I would like to quote one report. It is from the principal of St Joseph’s School in Upper Hutt, who praises the Labour-led Government for “its 9 years of very strong support for education.” He notes, in particular, a strengthened and supportive Ministry of Education. The additional ministry staff welcomed by the principal of St Joseph’s School are the very same people that Anne Tolley and John Key would sack.
With truancy up by 40 percent since 2002, with a Progress in International Reading Literacy Study survey showing that our 10-year-olds have barely improved their literacy rates since 2000, and with schools screaming for more money and fewer “Wassup!” badges, why have ministry staff numbers, excluding special education staff, increased by 111 percent since 1999?
I have, on many occasions in the last 10 months while Minister of Education, reminded this House and the country that the Labour-led Government has put an extra $5.5 billion into education, including putting 6,000 teachers above roll growth—that is more than the total staffing of the Ministry of Education—into schools. What about the 1,500 new classrooms or the 42 new schools we have built? That shows our commitment to education.