5. Hon MARYAN STREET (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister for Tertiary Education
How does she expect cuts in adult and community education to “… ensure that New Zealand is positioned to take advantage of the economic recovery as it happens”, as she has stated previously about the Government’s aim in Vote Education?
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Acting Minister for Tertiary Education) Link to this
As I told the member yesterday, the Government remains committed to adult community education and will spend $124 million over the next 4 years on the sector.
Hon Maryan Street Link to this
How many people does the Minister expect will benefit from the improved literacy and numeracy skills coming from an additional $35 million that is going into private schools, and how does that compare with the number of people who will suffer from the cuts to adult and community education?
I think Labour has to get over its obsession around private schools. Children who go to private schools are New Zealanders who have a right to a 100 percent free education. They are much cheaper for the taxpayer, because we pay only about 35 percent of the cost of their education.
Aaron GilmoreWhat reports has the Minister seen on individuals spreading misleading information about adult and community education reprioritisation?
I have seen reports, most of them from the member who asked the primary question, that say adult and community education funding will be cut by $152 million. That is simply wrong. The Government has made changes to $67 million of adult and community education funding, and we have shifted it to other areas of education spending.
Hon Maryan Street Link to this
How does the Minister compare the return on the investment of $35 million into private schools with the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ calculation of the return on the investment in adult and community education funding in 2008 of between $54 and $72 for each dollar of funding?
Well, if we believed PricewaterhouseCoopers’ evaluation, we would spend $10 billion on adult and community education and would have an economy that is twice the size it currently is. That is clearly the kind of nonsense that the previous Government relied on.
Catherine Delahunty Link to this
Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Tēnā koutou katoa. What reports has the Minister received on the number of people who could lose access to reintroduction to learning, other than literacy courses, that could possibly lead to jobs, as a result of the cuts to adult and community education?
I cannot directly answer that question in detail, but I can tell the member that we have seen reports of thousands of people who are losing their jobs and going on the dole. We are doing the best we can to keep them connected to the world of work and to help them to obtain skills for when the economy does pick up—particularly if they are young people, who are a higher priority than others.
Hon Maryan Street Link to this
Does the Minister understand the concept of embedded literacy and numeracy skills; if so, how does the Minister think Moroccan cooking classes can be completed without acquiring or developing literacy and numeracy skills along the way?
Carmel SepuloniDoes the Minister consider Māori or Samoan language courses, such as those run at Wellington High School, to be hobby courses or to be courses that improve literacy skills?
As I have said, the Government will be spending $124 million on adult and community education over the next 4 years, and anyone who is offering a course will have the opportunity, under processes set up by the previous Government, to get it funded.
Hon Maryan Street Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. That was hardly an answer to the question my colleague asked, which was about Māori and Samoan language classes being considered to be hobby courses or to contribute to literacy skills. Does the Minister have a definition of hobby courses?
Mr SPEAKERAs I heard the answer, the Minister acknowledged that organisations that are running these kinds of courses will apply for funding for the courses to continue. The impression I got from the answer was that the Minister cannot predetermine which courses will be funded. I do not believe that a further, more precise answer to that question can be given at this stage.