Happy ECE cuts day

Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, July 1st, 2011 - 17 comments
Categories: education, national - Tags: , ,

Today the Nats’ early childhood education (ECE) cuts kick in, and in response there is a national day of protest:

Children have hand in protest

Ako Early Learning Centre, in Dunedin, is putting its weight behind a New Zealand Educational Institute initiative to oppose cuts to early childhood education (ECE) funding. Cuts to most ECE services will be introduced on Friday, but it will be marked by a nationwide day of protest.

From Friday, the Government will no longer offer a support grant to fund advice and guidance programmes for newly qualified teachers – a cut of about $4000 a teacher.

New Zealand Kindergartens chief executive Clare Wells said “the Government is not only reducing funding but also saying that 100% qualified teachers do not matter if the child is under 5 years old”. …

Centres nationwide would hold a “day of action” on Friday, to show they were “not OK with the cuts”, Ms Morey said. A poster with children’s handprints and comments on what they like about the centre would be the centrepiece on the action day in Dunedin.

Cutting ECE is stupid. The quality of children’s ECE care clearly influences their later education and cognitive development, and therefore helps to shape their entire lives. It’s probably the best investment any country can make, and the Nats are taking us backwards.

At time of writing (Thursday night) the only mention of this in the media is a couple of press releases on Scoop (here, here), the piece in the Otago Daily Times above, and a similar piece in the Marlborough Express. It will be interesting to see what sort of coverage there is on Friday. It would be nice to think that the future of our children merited even half so much attention as, say, a sick penguin.

17 comments on “Happy ECE cuts day ”

  1. Afewknowthetruth 1

    The government is not the least bit interested in the future of the children of this nation. Or the nation.

    In fact, politicians are not the least bit intersted in their own children’s futures. If they were, they would have implemented strategies to deal with the meltdown of present living arrangements that are an inevitable consequence of peak oil. The meltdown is underway.

    If politicians were at all interested in their children’s future they would have implemented strategies to prevent climate meltdown and ecological meltdown. Both are underway.

    The present crop of politicians are just criminals or clowns who are full of self-importance and empty of knowledge.

    Pity the next generation.

  2. felix 2

    The single most in-demand relieving ECE teacher in the Waikato will no longer be employed by the Kindy Asscn. for relieving work, as they now only give relieving work to non-qualified staff.

    Absurd but true.

    Thanks National Ltd™ , I’m lovin’ it.

    • Deadly_NZ 2.1

      Now that just what we want kick out the qualified staff, and have any old pervert as a kindy teacher.

      Thanks National Just what I needed. my kids to have a hap hazard education, and have to look over their shoulders all the time because the new teachers cant be trusted.

      • Drakula 2.1.1

        And what is Nat/Acts excuse? We have run out of money that we would normaly get from out rich mates and Oh yes it’s the Christchurch earthquake!!

        Yes that’s right we will blame the earthquake!!!!!!!

  3. ZeeBop 3

    Saw this cow munching away on grass, bloody useless bludger the farmer pays good money to keep that grass growing! Of course we all understand that at some point the cow will goto market.

    But a DPB mum growing the future workforce gets no such luck, their child will go on to work and produce taxes for the nation.

    So why do we have such a poor attitude? We know that the boomers are retiring, we need more mums having kids to pay taxes to pay their boomer pensions.

    No, simply the astonishing truth about NZ is we care more about cows that babies.

    And where does this rancid view come from, growing babies bad growing cows good?
    Braindead kiwis that MSM camera find drooling all over the sidewalk, that’s my taxes
    going to those DPB.

    But is it really? No. In fact if you count the fact that mums do go back into the workforce,
    have been in the workforce, when outside the workforce do ‘work’ that is measureable
    addition to our GDP.

    Its like the parent who stays home to look after their disabled kid, it would cost a damn lot more if they handed the child over to the government.

    So where do all these useless people who think that living on a benefit is some dream
    lifestyle?

    And you wonder why our economy is shit, reliant on just farmers, because your average tightarse gets in front of camera and thinks they know economics. The simple fact is government subsidies everyone. A rich person who is overseas and calls up the embassy
    for a heads up, helps himself to free advice and so makes money off the government purse.
    Now your DPB mum doesn’t have access, and doesn’t need a whole lot of services, that many working and business owners do use all the time. The answer is that economically providing future employees to be skilled up is hugely beneficial to our society and economy.

    So when are we going to have the ten second toss piot who thinks their better than the DPB mum? Nobody asked them if they have a mortgage worth more than their home, or massive credit card debt, or student debt. No, its just easy to target a known group like DPB mums. And so where is the human rights commission? Nowhere as per usual.

    DPB have the entitlement to basic support like ever NZ, those in work get family credits, those in work will have government subsidies like regulating their industry, and weeding out the polluters short cutters, etc.

    So where is the balance in MSM? Its the bankers who are the bludgers.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.1

      We know that the boomers are retiring, we need more mums having kids to pay taxes to pay their boomer pensions.

      Becoming more unsustainable isn’t an answer to paying for the welfare of the boomer generation.

      So where is the balance in MSM? Its the bankers who are the bludgers.

      Yep.

      • ZeeBop 3.1.1

        So we should not replace the boomer generation? Or mums can’t breed?

        We endeavour to create profits to build a better society. What went wrong?

        Did it start when we lost our humanity and looked to the bottom line, who wins
        who loses?

        Everyone has the right to breed a replacement. To build a community.
        To be secure in person, health, from physical harm, etc.

        I think we as a society have forgotten that when so many are routinely found ignoring the humanity of anyone fiscally less well off than them, like the DPB basher.

        Penguins get more concern.

        • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1.1

          So we should not replace the boomer generation?

          ATM, we should be looking at decreasing the population as our present levels are likely to prove unsustainable once the effects of Peak Oil really hit home.

          • Colonial Viper 3.1.1.1.1

            Current NZ population levels is OK, no? There’s going to be a lot of labouring work to be done mate.

    • R 3.2

      brilliant post ZB.

      I long for the day that we all get used to the idea that the DPB is for parents of both genders. ‘DPB mothers’ / ‘solo mums [lower case is intentional]’ pisses me off, and that’s not because I’m a solo mum or dad. All of those terms are used in a pejorative way that isn’t deserved, by anyone of either gender or sexual orientation. The DPB should be about providing for ‘domestic purposes’, i.e. should provide for people’s domestic circumstances. It should be about the family unit and the child/ren.

  4. if ever there were proof needed that National have no care for our future, this is it

  5. Einstein said : ” There are two things that are infinate the first is the universe and the second is human stupidity, and I am not so sure about the former”

    This anomily that has been created by replacing skilled early childhood educators with dirttrack cowboys typifies Nat/Act policy.

    It is either criminality or stupidity and I am not too sure about the latter!!!!!!!

  6. r0b 6

    So, one mention on NewstalkZB.  Pretty much as expected. We now return you to your hourly updates on the penguin…

  7. Alice 7

    You aren’t spending too much time on that facebook boycott site are you? Can imagine your on there day in and day out. Really Ian, you need to get a life.

  8. Alice 8

    You won’t succeed in framing me Ian, it just won’t work, but I know you will solve the case, this I know.

  9. Alice 9

    Stop being such a baby, it isn’t as if you are alone, are you?

    And you will heal, if you do the right thing. You will feel better. xx

  10. All this complaining about so called funding cuts is getting tiresome.

    Lets all get back to the job in hand, which is providing a high quality early childhood experience for preschoolers – just like your charter promises to the Ministry of Education.

    Cheers

    Keith – Kinderhaven Preschools

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