Compulsory Maori No Answer To Under-Achievement
act-new-zealand
Sat Jun 11 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Compulsory Maori No Answer To Under-Achievement
Saturday, 11 June 2011, 2:40 pm
Press Release: ACT New Zealand
Compulsory Maori No Answer To Under-Achievement
Proposals to make tertiary level Maori language and education courses compulsory for secondary school teachers are racist, high-handed and wrong-headed, says ACT New Zealand Leader Dr Don Brash.
The proposals are part of a Maori Youth Council report on ways to counter Maori under-achievement. Associate Education Minister Pita Sharples pronounces himself "excited" by them and intent on phasing them in.
"Just who gave him a mandate to do that?" asks Dr Brash.
"Under-achievement is not an exclusively Maori problem requiring an exclusively Maori solution. One of its root causes is lack of competence in English and other basics among teachers. As recently as February this year, the Secondary Principals' Association was lamenting that 'some teachers are so lacking in literacy and numeracy skills that they cannot write adequate reports or do primary-school-level maths.'
"I quote from an article in the Dominion Post at the time:
Anecdotal evidence from principals included teachers being unable to write reports, having poor reading comprehension, making basic punctuation, grammar and spelling errors, and being unable to help pupils' reading. Some teachers had difficulty completing basic multiplication, division, algebra and problem-solving, including inability to do basic calculations without the assistance of a calculator, and the inability to solve basic mathematical problems which we would expect pupils in primary school to be able to solve.
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"Small wonder one pupil in four is leaving school functionally illiterate," Dr Brash continues.
"These are the deficiencies we ought to be addressing. Foisting Maori on teachers, far from being helpful, will be a further distraction from lifting them to an acceptable degree of competence. It will also, as Maori broadcaster Scotty Morrison has already observed, foster resentment.
"ACT has no problem with teachers voluntarily learning Te Reo if they wish. But treating it as a panacea that ought to be made compulsory at taxpayer expense is beyond mischievous. The fact that this morning's online New Zealand Herald poll shows 90% of respondents opposed to the idea indicates clearly and reassuringly that most New Zealanders can see through it.
"ACT will fight it tooth and nail," Dr Brash concludes.
ENDS
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