More and more schools are standing up and doing what is best for their children’s education:
Quarter of schools fail to comply on standards
Nearly a quarter of all primary schools have refused to comply with National Standards requirements – but none appear to have faced any serious consequence for breaking the law.
Schools had until the start of last month to send the Ministry of Education their 2011 charters, which had to include information about what National Standard targets they hoped to achieve by the end of this year. According to statistics released to the Herald yesterday, 30 schools have failed to submit charters and a further 416 have submitted charters that don’t include the required National Standards information. …
The figure is in stark contrast to the “small group of around 200 or less who are refusing to obey the law” that Education Minister Anne Tolley spoke about during the National Party Conference on Saturday.
Schools had been threatened with statutory intervention if they did not comply with the law, but some are now seen to be getting away with their protest against the controversial standards with little consequence. New Zealand Principals’ Federation spokesman, Ernie Buutveld, said it was “a serious situation when a quarter of all schools are taking such a bold stance”.
Tolley is wilfully blind to the educational evidence and theory showing national standards to be a bad idea. So naturally she thinks it’s all about her. It’s all about those mean “Labour Party activists” trying to thwart her!
Mrs Tolley says those schools opposed to the standards have put politics ahead of the interests of their children.
“There’s no doubt there are some Labour activists that are very, very determined to, first of all bring me down because I was the minister that introduced them, but also to I think sacrifice their students and their school for a political point.”
Wow. That’s quite some ego you’ve got there Anne. Here’s a newsflash. It’s not about you. You’re a lame duck minister, out of your depth, desperately clinging to the remains of your portfolio. You’re not being personally targeted by “Labour Party activists”. You’re not relevant. What is relevant is educational outcomes for the children in NZ’s schools. That’s what schools are standing up for.
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