Maharey needs to act

new-zealand-national-party

Sun Feb 11 2007 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Maharey needs to act

Sunday, 11 February 2007, 3:43 pm
Press Release: New Zealand National Party

Katherine Rich MP
National Party Education Spokeswoman

11 February 2007

If Steve Maharey’s not too busy denying hungry children numbers, he should indicate whether he’ll seek an enquiry into the slow demise of Waverley High School, says National’s Education spokeswoman, Katherine Rich.

Problems with the school have been on education officials’ radars since 2002, but it took until last year for decisive action to be taken.

“I agree with John Langley, Dean of Education at the University of Auckland, that questions need to be asked about how the latest cheating scandal was handled,” says Mrs Rich.

“NZQA and Education Review Office say they followed correct process over the last four years, but writing vague reports and issuing letters has not been enough.

“It’s proved to be like whispering to the Captain of the Titanic that there are icebergs ahead, but not ensuring that advice was heard and acted upon. Unlike the Titanic’s captain, NZQA, ERO and the Ministry of Education have had years to turn the school around.

“An investigation should cover what steps were taken by NZQA, the Ministry of Education, the school and ERO to deal with the problems.
“The painstakingly slow process between when a problem is identified and action is troubling.

“NZQA and ERO give the impression that four years is acceptable when that’s the entire time at secondary school wasted for some students. The time lags are not fair to the students, the teachers or the community.

“While officials fail to act, parents that could afford it made their verdict on the school clear by busing their kids to other schools.

“NZQA refuses to name the other schools which are in similar dire straits. I suspect they’ll all be schools where parents and students are already voting with their feet.

“The lack of transparency is not fair to students.”

Ends

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