Parata fleeing education mess
Parata can believe whatever brings her comfort of course, but the fact is that this National government has made, as usual, a mess of education.
politicans
Hekia parata
Reshuffle
Bill English is to announce a cabinet reshuffle today. What should he do?
Parata overrules Bennett – consent not taught in schools
In the followup to the rape culture protests, Hekia Parata has overruled Paula Bennett, and consent will not be taught in schools.
The great Cabinet reshuffle
Bill English has announced his cabinet reshuffle.
Lotu-Iiga is going
Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has announced that he will stand down from Parliament at the end of the current term. He will be a loss to National.
unCOOL
In August Hekia Parata announced her new COOL solution, that distinctly isn’t what it says on the tin.
Now’s your chance to submit your feedback on her proposal.
Hekia Parata fabricates a ‘Special Education Association’
Hekia Parata has stooped to a new low. She has lied. Openly and blatantly. I do hope the media and opposition MPs take this further.
All aboard the charter schools gravy train
Charter schools are pretty nice work if you can get it, no wonder groups are lining up. But there’s no evidence that they are good for education.
New Zealand drops down World corruption free index
New Zealand used to be rated as the least corrupt country in the world. Over the past couple of years we have dropped to second and now to fourth. The cynical way that the Government handles OIA requests is the main reason for this occurring.
John Key’s hedge fund mate behind Teach First (NZ)
Julian Robertston, a US billionaire who made his money with hedge fund Tiger Management, Merryl Lynch’s largest customer when John Key was working there, is the man behind privatisation trojan horse Teach First (NZ).
Use of Teach First (NZ) illegal
To date, TeachFirst(NZ) has received more than $6.4 million dollars of public money and, as a result, has infested 18 schools with dozens of so-called “teachers”.
NRT: Compare and contrast
I/S at No Right Turn compares the government’s treatment of two very different schools. “National’s racism and pandering to the rich pervades every aspect of policy.”
A government of spin
Two recent articles suggest that this Government is more interested in spin and PR than in achieving good. And one of the articles previously posted in the Herald has mysteriously disappeared.
More charter school hypocrisy
Turns out the Education Minister overrode Ministry advice to protect National’s pet charter schools from being evaluated on their actual outcomes. Plus a bonus side order of hypocrisy on class sizes.
Hekia has gone rogue
Hekia Parata has announced that student achievement and not need caused by poverty will be a central part of any future funding system.
National’s terrible deal making
A brief analysis of a number of deals that National has negotiated suggests that its reputation as a supposedly tough dealmaker is misplaced.
National’s week from hell
This was the week from hell for National when they experienced the Serco fiasco, news that they responded to a suggestion they close a failing Charter School by giving it more money, the Judicial spanking of their undermining of the Problem Gambling Foundation and the ruling that their legislation removing the rights of some prisoners to vote was a breach of the country’s human rights.
Failing Charter School punished by increase in funding
The Friday afternoon bad news dump is on with news that Education Minister was recommended to close a poorly performing charter school. She has elected not to do so and to instead give the school extra money.
Novopay cost us $45 million
It was announced yesterday that Novopay has cost the country $45 million more than intended. The Ministry of Education has accepted some responsibility but in terms of ultimate responsibility the Ministers involved, English, Parata and Foss should be held to blame.
More Nat lies
National’s been lying about increased teacher numbers, and the state of the economy – and now they’re promising unaffordable tax cuts.
Local Bodies: Novopay Exemplifies National’s Governance
This National led Government is strong on ideology, weak on process and reluctant to accept responsibility. The Novopay debacle exemplifies all of these well. When questioned about Novopay, National Ministers will never accept full responsibility. Stephen Joyce has just announced that the Government will be taking over the management of Novopay after almost two years of stress and wide-ranging issues. No matter what National and its Ministers claim, Novopay is largely their fault, and taking responsibility and making apologies are not what this Government does readily.
The education debate
Education has become a major election issue. And after Labour’s announcements at this weekend’s congress there is a stark divide, between the enrichment of the few or the advancement of the many.
A quick note to John Key
Remember when John Key explained why he sends his children to private schools….. and now the Nats and Parata are saying that such advantages don’t work for all Kiwis.
iPredict needs “Next National Minister Resignation”
Who will it be? Judith? Simon? Hekia? Amy? Or a surprise?
ImperatorFish: A day in the life of Simon Bridges
ImperatorFish generously allows us to repost some of his posts. It was impossible to resist this satire.
“Just asked Hekia what I should do. I told her I feel like I’m the weakest link in the entire Cabinet. I could swear I saw relief on her face as I said it. “Don’t you dare leave,” she told me.“
LB: The Destruction of New Zealand’s Public Education System
In 2008 New Zealand was internationally ranked in the top seven for educational achievement, and when you compared us with other countries that were also culturally diverse and were experiencing growing inequality we were extremely successful. A National led Government was elected and New Zealand’s public education system came under heavy attack… Hekia Parata continues this.
Polity: The buck stops with Hekia
Just when you think that Hekia Parata couldn’t make more of a shambolic mess of the Kohanga Reo review, it turns out that she could and did. Rob Salmond at Polity (and Audrey Young of the Herald) has a look at it.
LocalBodies: National Slumps in Polls As Ministers Struggle
There is danger of reading too much into polls months out from an election. Commentators were claiming that National was too strong to lose the next election based on a rogue poll. Few looked at multiple polls, accounted for the margin of error nor the trends over past months. The last fortnight has seen a National with the latest Roy Morgan Poll plummeting from the Colmar Brunton result of 51% to 45.5%. And it is based on a lack of ministerial performance…
Parata replaces Collins and Adams as National’s weakest link
This week Hekia Parata has achieved what I thought was impossible. She has shown even worse judgment than Judith Collins and is threatening to replace Collins as National’s minister who is most in trouble. Hekia’s days as a Minister must be numbered …
Hekia Parata wants to punish poor schools
Yesterday Hekia Parata floated the idea that funding of schools should be based on measuring the periodic change in academic standards. This is a retrograde proposal which almost inevitably would penalise poor schools and worsen educational standards for many. Today she has been trying to dampen down the idea and has emphasised that it will not be considered until after the next election. A better reason to vote this Government out I cannot imagine.
Beltway blues: serving the public interest?
Gower’s one-dimensional, distorted, gotcha reporting, highlights the failings of TV3 news & The Nation. Corin Dann and Qu &A are less one-dimensional, but speak within the B-Hive-Media Loop, that speaks for the comfortable middle & Business classes, & manufactured a “problem” week for Cunliffe.
NRT: Ticket clipping
National’s charter schools are predicated on the idea that the public education system is doing a bad job. They’re (over-)funded to do things differently. So its more than a little odd that He Puna Marama Trust’s charter school is simply getting local state schools to do all their teaching for them. They just clip the ticket converting taxpayers money to private profit. Ridiculous corrupt NAct policy.
Isolating change: the poverty of education
John Key presented one great idea in isolation instead of a full election agenda: a desperate attempt to stop the growing discontents with his government. He failed to address underlying problems. Cunliffe will outline a broader political agenda. Turei addresses poverty & income inequalities.
ImperatorFish: Hekia Parata on the PISA report
Hekia, in her own succinct words. Or at least Scott’s.
Why New Zealand’s educational standards are crashing
National’s carefully constructed Educational Policies, designed to give the impression of action but based on the transfer of riches to the children of the wealthy and the bashing of Teachers Unions, are in tatters following the release of the Pisa Report. Cuts made to Teachers Professional Standards in 2009 made against advice are obviously having an effect. And increasing child poverty must be having an effect, despite the Government’s refusal to even measure it.
What the Hekia happened to our education standards?
The latest OECD report on educational performance for 15 year olds shows a significant drop in New Zealand’s relative standing. What the Hekia is going on?