Key admits ‘National Standards’ slogan is bad policy

new-zealand-labour-party

Wed Feb 16 2011 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Key admits ‘National Standards’ slogan is bad policy

Wednesday, 16 February 2011, 2:50 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

16 February 2011

Key admits ‘National Standards’ slogan is bad policy

Prime Minister John Key has shown himself to be a master of the understatement with his admission of “teething problems” in imposing National Standards on New Zealand schools, says Labour’s Education spokesperson Darren Hughes.

“John Key has finally dropped all pretence that the introduction of National Standards is going smoothly,” Darren Hughes said.

“Education Minister Anne Tolley has presided over what’s become an educational and public relations disaster, and now John Key has given up making excuses for her.

“It is also clear from John Key’s sorry and defensive comments about the programme that he no longer sees the scheme as a vote-winner,” Darren Hughes said. “There won’t be any more boasting. There won’t be any more empty talk about National driving up our educational standards.

“The New Zealand Educational Institute says that John Key’s admission --- that the scheme hasn’t gone as smoothly as planned and that the first year has effectively been a trial --- is a significant victory for the thousands of parents, teachers, principals and academics who have expressed deep concerns.

“The NZEI is not gloating when it says this,” Darren Hughes said. “It’s actually a really sad commentary on National’s political ideology becoming more important in the Government’s eyes than the job of educating our children.

“School children are the real victims of this failed attempt to predict and measure student achievement. At the very least the standards should have been trialled on a small scale. Instead they were imposed holus bolus, and children have been the losers.

“This is just another example of how education has become a mess under National,” Darren Hughes said.

“This was never a proper policy. It was always just a slogan. John Key has finally owned up to what everyone else could see.”

ENDS

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