3. Hon MARIAN HOBBS (Labour—Wellington Central) Link to this
to the Minister for Tertiary Education
What is the Government doing to support adult learners?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Acting Minister for Tertiary Education) Link to this
In 2005 the Government supported over 400,000 learners in adult and community education. Adult learning helps people to gain skills, improve their confidence, expand their knowledge, and reach their potential. This week the Government celebrates Adult Learners’ Week, which aims to raise the profile of adult learning, recognise the efforts and achievements of learners and teachers alike, and inform people of learning opportunities available in the community. This has been endorsed, of course, by the House. I thereby thank Judy Turner, Dr Pita Sharples, Metiria Turei, and the Hon Bill English for their support of Adult Learners’ Week.
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
Tomorrow the Government also celebrates International Literacy Day. One of the key priorities signalled in the Government’s newly released tertiary education strategy discussion document is to build strong foundations in literacy, numeracy, and language. Moving forward, the Government will look to invest in increasing language skills in the workforce and raising foundation skills for parents to support their children’s learning.
Hon Bill EnglishCan the Minister explain why he and his predecessor, Steve Maharey, have put in place policy that is, as we speak, destroying New Zealand’s traditional structure of adult and community education, which used to be provided cheaply through schools, and which will now be provided through a very expensive bureaucratic mechanism that will see most of the money end up in polytechs?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
The intention is, of course, to continue to have schools to provide adult education. But I would point out the irony of a man who campaigned on the tightening up of rules that he put in place in the 1990s, now complaining that these changes might be a little tighter.
Tariana TuriaTēnā koe, Madam Speaker; tēnā tātou katoa. What support, access, and equitable funding are made available to attract Māori and Pacific adult learners to programmes that meet their aspirations and needs, given the contrast between current record low levels of unemployment in the general population and the high levels of unemployment in Māori and Pasifika populations?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
One of the changes in the adult community education area is to set priorities that will, of course, be of use to Māori learners—that is, targeting learners whose initial learning was not successful, raising foundation skills, encouraging lifelong learning, strengthening communities by identifying community needs then meeting those needs, and strengthening social cohesion. All of these areas will have some benefit to the learners the member is referring to.