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Education politicians hit campaign campus
QUASHING concerns for special education funding and abolishing a bloated bureaucracy were among the top priorities of education politicians in the first week of election campaigning.
Education Minister Chris Carter toured east Manukau schools last Thursday, visiting Edgewater College, Somerville Intermediate and Farm Cove Intermediate sharing with principals his future plans for the education sector.
Mr Carter spoke to the Times and revealed his top priority for education: lifting the performance of Maori and Pasifika students.
“One third of our students are of Maori or Pasifika heritage.
“The achievement rates of these students are not as good as the general population and these students are the future of our country,” says Mr Carter.
He says he’s confident heading into the election that he has a good education story to tell, but acknowledges there’s still a lot of work to be done.
“I’m concerned that we’re not delivering special education funding as effectively as we could. One of the commitments I’m giving as Education Minister is a full review of special education funding to see if we can use it more effectively.”
Mr Carter also promised to ensure east Manukau schools have adequate resources to accommodate for the growth in the area and to make sure parents are confident that their children will have schools to go to.
Botany candidate for the National Party and associate education spokeswoman Pansy Wong unveiled a different set of education priorities that she says are equally important.
“National wants to ensure every child receives a quality education.
“We’ll set national standards in reading, writing and maths to give schools shared expectations about what students should be achieving,” says Mrs Wong.
She says principals are swamped in paperwork and need more resources for special needs students.
“National wants to enable teachers and principals to get on with the job they’re supposed to be doing, instead of filling out paperwork.
“We will be releasing policy regarding special needs students closer to the election.”
Mrs Wong says making sure funding reaches teachers, instead of a “bloated bureaucracy” is what her party will be driving for, as well as sorting out traffic congestion problems outside school grounds.
