September 15, 2015
Turakina deadline three years in the making
Education Minister Hekia Parata denies she avoided a group from Turakina Girls High School who travelled to parliament last week to protest the school’s possible closure.
The Education Ministry has opened consultation on the proposal, giving the school until Labour weekend to say how it will fix its buildings and lift its roll.
Ms Parata was not there to receive a petition for the group because she was attending the Maori Principal’s Federation conference in Auckland,.
But she met with the school trustees and old girls the previous week and spelled out the process of consultation she was going through before any decisions are made.
"I am working to a timeline that will give certainly to parents and whanau and to girls themselves as to what is happening in 2016. This is not a sudden process. We have been working with Turakina for 3 years and we have not been able to find a solution and that is why we are now in this process"says the Education Minister Hekia Parata.
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