Maori resourcing a priority for new NZEI head

The new president of the primary teachers’ union NZEI Te Riu Roa wants political parties to work alongside educators and agree to a 20-year vision for education based on professional knowledge and good evidence.

"It would mean whichever political party is in power, there is a commitment to a shared vision and the direction we’re going in, rather than just having policy that comes in at us from left field," says Lynda Stuart, who is taking a two-year break as principal of May Road in Mount Roskill.

She says schools need to be properly resourced to respond to their communities’ aspirations for their children.

A priority for her term is to promote initiatives that make a real difference for Maori and Pasifika students, including appropriate resourcing for bilingual units and resources in schools.

She wants to see all children attend quality early childhood education services staffed entirely by qualified and registered teachers.

Ms Stuart says there also needs to be a funding jolt for the entire education sector that recognises and compensates for the years of underfunding, an effective equity funding scheme for schools that recognises the increasing inequity in New Zealand, and additional funding to support an extra 20,000 more children with special learning needs.

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