Written By: - Date published: 2:45 pm, April 15th, 2008 - 33 comments
Stuff reports that “Principals and teachers have savaged a National Party plan to increase funding for private schools, calling it a thinly disguised tax break for the rich.” New Zealand Secondary Principals’ Council chairman Arthur Graves called Key’s proposal to increase funding to private schools at the expense of the public system “a deliberate attempt …
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, April 15th, 2008 - 6 comments
The Herald is really doing its best to help out National. Today it proclaims ‘Key’s wananga visit undoes Brash legacy‘. That nice Mr Key has undone all the harm caused by that nasty old Dr Brash, we’re meant to believe. But check the record. It wasn’t Brash who led the attack on Te WÄnanga o …
Written By: - Date published: 4:36 pm, April 10th, 2008 - 48 comments
Today, outstanding student loan debt reaches $10 billion. That’s a fair old swag of money but what has been ignored in the coverage so far is that this debt is interest-free. Now, an economist will tell you that the price of money is the interest rate, so student loans are free money. It’s not quite …
Written By: - Date published: 12:56 pm, February 13th, 2008 - 34 comments
Katherine Rich was one of only 2 women on National’s front bench and its last moderate MP. The only surprise in her resignation is that she resisted the National hierarchy’s pressure to leave for so long. National’s all-male inner circle never had any time for this young, independent-minded woman with a social conscience who wouldn’t …
Written By: - Date published: 4:18 pm, January 31st, 2008 - 78 comments
National have just backed down on their opposition to interest free student loans. Back in 2005 Key called this ‘a policy that tells young New Zealanders to go and borrow to the hilt What a cost to the country! What an unaffordable and irresponsible cost to the country! It is a sad day National members …
Written By: - Date published: 5:17 pm, November 14th, 2007 - 40 comments
Interesting to see Onslow College is giving its students a say over the hiring of their teachers. Recognising students as stakeholders in their schools is a fundamentally progressive and democratic move, and it’d be good to see it happening in other schools too. From this morning’s Dom Post: Pupils at Wellington’s Onslow College now have …
Written By: - Date published: 5:02 pm, November 7th, 2007 - 39 comments
Some people just never learn. After National’s conflicting statements on bulk funding the other day you’d have thought they’d get their messages in order, if not their policies. But take a look at these comments from Alan Peachey in Parliament yesterday: Hon Marian Hobbs: Has the Minister seen any reports on alternative approaches to supporting …
Written By: - Date published: 12:46 pm, November 3rd, 2007 - 29 comments
It’s happened again. The Nelson Mail reports that: National MP and former principal Allan Peachey has broken ranks with front-bench colleague Katherine Rich over education policy, arguing in favour of the bulk-funding of teacher salaries… The Tamaki MP and associate education spokesman… publicly endorsed the controversial model of funding schools. This directly contradicted Ms Rich, …
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