New Teen Parent Units at-risk

new-zealand-national-party

Wed Mar 14 2007 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

New Teen Parent Units at-risk

Wednesday, 14 March 2007, 3:07 pm
Press Release: New Zealand National Party

Katherine Rich MP
National Party Education Spokeswoman

14 March 2007

Plans for new Teen Parent Units are at risk from what is a blatant cost-cutting measure by the Ministry of Education, says National’s Education spokeswoman, Katherine Rich.

Ministry officials are due to report to the Education Minister at the end of this month with a review that will recommend mainstream schools bid for funding for teen parents.

The Ministry currently funds up to 487 students at 17 specialist units.

“While the Government has basked in the glory of many photo-opportunities at Teen Parent Unit (TPU) openings, Official Information Act papers give the impression that the Ministry has gone cold on the idea and teen parents will bare the brunt of this,” Mrs Rich says.

“These units have a successful formula that allows young mothers, who were often disengaged from learning prior to pregnancy, to come back to school and learn in a safe, encouraging environment.

“Now, as a cost-cutting measure, the Government wants to put their education up for tender and force these teen mothers back into mainstream schools.

“This will be a major step backwards in the education of many teen mothers.”

Documents from the Ministry’s Teen Parent Unit Policy Review in October last year show the Ministry admits its motivation for the TPU moratorium is money.

“The per-student cost highlights that the current TPU model is an expensive way of educating pregnant and parenting students. We recommend that you continue to defer approvals for new TPUs until an appropriate funding model is established that provides better value for money as discussed further in this paper.

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"Overall, the units are helping many students re-establish an educational future, as nearly half of the TPU students were not attending school prior to pregnancy. However, the current model is expensive and inflexible; we believe cost savings and better student achievement are possible," the report said.

“The Labour Government’s justification for the moratorium on TPUs doesn’t stack up,” Mrs Rich says.

“The decision is driven by cost, not the educational welfare of young women.

“Mainstreaming will work for a few girls, but by far the majority want to be in an environment that will help them deal with their dual roles as mothers and students.

“It should be no surprise that the assistance offered to teen parents doesn’t come cheap.

“But if we know anything, we know keeping young women engaged in learning prevents more teen parents from becoming dependent on the welfare system in the long term.

“It’s time the Ministry took a long-term, strategic approach to this issue and backed what is a proven formula.”

ENDS

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