September 25, 2013
Old fears dragged up in charter school battle
Education Minister Hekia Parata is hearing echoes of past battles in the opposition to charter schools.
Ms Parata says critics are trading in myths and misinformation.
She says rather than being about privatising education, four of the initial five kura hourua are run by not for profit charitable trusts, and the fifth is an existing private training establishment.
Most of the teachers will be registered apart from those taking specialist courses such as carving or military training, and there will be oversight not just from the Education Review Office and the Education Ministry but from a special oversight board.
Ms Parata says the New Zealand education system already has a wide variety of schools, and people should not be scared of the change.
"When the faith-based schools, the Anglican, the Catholic, the Wesleyan schools were integrated back in the 1970s, there was the same criticism and concerns. Those schools have gone on to be very successful and very effective. When kura kaupapa were mooted and started, the same criticisms were levelled and they have gone on to be very successful," she says.
Ms Parata says it’s vital to try different things to address the needs of students who aren’t doing well in mainstream schools.
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