Govt must rethink funding for vulnerable students
green-party
Wed Jul 22 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Govt must rethink funding for vulnerable students
Wednesday, 22 July 2009, 4:48 pm
Press Release: Green Party
22 July 2009
Govt must rethink funding for vulnerable students
The Government should rethink its education funding priorities in light of recent reports of children facing severe hardship due to their special needs care being cut, said Green Party Education Spokesperson Catherine Delahunty.
At Question Time this afternoon Education Minister Anne Tolley was asked by the Green Party why the Government was willing to cut back programs for children with special needs in state schools while it doled out subsidies to some of New Zealand’s wealthiest private schools.
“The Minister claimed that the special needs funding she cut was annually negotiated and was only going to 23 schools as if that was a justification for a cut in support for these children,” said Ms Delahunty.
Although the Government has increased overall special needs funding it has achieved this by cutting back some programs. The effects of this will be hardship for many students and job losses for the student’s caregivers.
“While the Minister managed to find $35 million dollars in the budget to subsidise some of New Zealand’s wealthiest schools, children with special needs in our state schools face losing the ability to even go to school due to the cutbacks,” said Ms Delahunty.
“Something has gone horribly wrong when parents and children already facing an uphill battle are left to fend for themselves while the Government can find money to subsidise private school fees.
“Children with high care needs have a right to the resources they need to participate in schools. This has a cost and the state should pay for it.
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“Vulnerable children should be the priorities for education spending not the casualties of funding decisions that favour private education,” said Ms Delahunty.
Note: In recently released Treasury papers the Government was urged to abandon the idea of pumping 35 million dollars into subsidising private schools. Treasury pointed out that giving money to private schools would not 'improve educational outcomes or choice.’
Link: Page 16 of Treasury’s briefing outlines concerns about the plan to subsidise private schools
http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/informationreleases/budget/2009/pdfs/b09-t2009-574.pdf
ENDS
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