April 18, 2013
Māori Party wavering on charter schools
An Auckland academic says the Māori Party may be the key to Act getting its charter school experiment going.
Peter O’Connor, an Associate Professor at Auckland University’s education faculty, says Act has cynically manipulated Māori disaffection with the current education system to justify its plans.
Now United Future leader Peter Dunne has decided to vote against the legislation to allow the controversial partnership schools and the Māori Party’s support is critical.
Māori Party Co-leader Pita Sharples says he now supports the initiative, because provisions like allowing unregistered and untrained teachers will allow schools to bring in whānau who speak Māori.
Dr O‘Connor says the international evidence is clear that charter schools are about privatising education and will do nothing to lift Māori achievement.
He says they are a disaster in the making for Māori.
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