The cost of education
National needs to do something to address spiraling education costs in both the secondary and tertiary sectors.
Social issues
education
Privatised Education Strikes Again.
The problems we have identified many times, with privatisation of essential services, continue.
This pattern of Kiwi’s exploiting migrants is shameful
A depressing feature in The Herald this morning explores the exploitation of migrant workers. The same pattern as the private sector’s treatment of foreign students. This paints a shameful picture of New Zealand. Greed has made us forget who we were.
Charter schools fiddling their results
Charter schools are fiddling their results. Just another example of the way that education for profit is all about profit, with education hardly getting a look in. All of National’s ideological interventions in education are failures.
Massive education fail
Thanks National: “NZ kids worst at maths in English-speaking world”.
What skills do we need in the age of fake news?
Revelations surrounding the role of fake news in the American election have been stunning. And the critical thinking skills that democracy needs to survive this trend are under attack in our education system.
Tax-cuts or… Education
National’s dangling tax cuts, but there are far more important things to be spending public money on. Today: Education.
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.
Nats push stupidest education plan ever
It’s not April 1st, so I’m forced to conclude that this is a genuine announcement: Students to learn online from home instead of at school under major education reform.
Interest free student loans – still safe for now?
A right wing “think-tank” wants to load students up with even more debt.
Labour on student debt – beware of clickbait headlines
“Revealed: Labour’s plan to wipe student debt”. Nope. Saved you a click.
The Mother Budget
There are budgets and there are budgets. And for all the presence or absence of bright ideas, there’s a budget that threatens to subsume all others…
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.
We’re going to burn it all, until we burn it down.
What does it really mean to reduce NZ’s total fossil fuel use by 50% by 2030: a warm up discussion for an upcoming thought experiment.
Pharmac underfunded and education cuts
It’s a steady attrition, the death of a thousand cuts.
National standards – a failed crusade
National told us “New Zealand elected a Government that promised to introduce national standards so that every single child could read, write, and do maths when they left school.”
Key launches war on P
“My message to the gangs is clear. This Government is coming after your business and we will use every tool we have to destroy it. We will be ruthless in our pursuit of you and the evil drug you push.”
Time for progress on drug law
Welcome signs of new realism on drugs. Sadly, it’s the sort of progress only a right-wing government can propose.
Postcard from the “brighter” future
Evidence of growing poverty hitting “mid-decile” schools.
Family First on the important issues of the day
Don’t conservative cranks have anything better to do with their time?
Charter schools paid ideology bonuses
Charter schools showered with even more money for missing their targets. Something to do with forests, apparently.
The TPPA could blight public education
The TPPA could bring us charter schools on steroids, and threaten policies like free tertiary education. In general its a way of locking in a permanent, international right-wing governance which can limit and constrain the kind of social policies that any future NZ left-wing government might want to enact.
ECONOMY IN PERIL! DANGER!! WARNING!!!
Key’s second waitress bungle
Key’s badly dented “political antennae” took another solid beating yesterday, with his second high-profile bungle involving a waitress.
Praise for Labour’s tertiary bombshell
Although there have been predictable howls of outrage from the usual suspects, the media reaction to Labour’s bold tertiary education policy has been generally great.
Another policy to be proud of
Labour has rolled out another big bold policy that will shape the national discussion for years. Critics, most of whom received a free tertiary education themselves back in the day, want to deny a younger generation the same right (and pocket a tax cut instead). Enter Steven Joyce…
Good money after bad into the bottomless pit of charter schools
Yesterday the Nats confirmed the closing of a failed Northland charter school. Turns out we’ll be paying an extra $400,000 for the first quarter of this year, even though the school will not open. Brilliant.
The great big list of John Key’s big fat lies (UPDATED)
How many more lies will John Key tell today in his so-called State of the Nation address? Virtual chocolate fish to whomever guesses the closest number.
Tertiary fee drop – excellent proposal from Labour
Education is a public good, but tertiary education in NZ has been undermined by high student fees and debt. So it’s very encouraging to see a proposal from Labour for reducing fees (and not ruling out free education!).
Skill shortages and reaping what you sow
Data released to the Sunday Star-Times shows a huge decline in numbers of tertiary students, including declines in many key skills and fields. Various explanations are offered, only one of them makes sense…
Education mess
Details of a mess in tertiary education published yesterday. On top of the mess in charter schools. National aren’t very good at this.
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).
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.”
The education review
National is initiating a review of education. They will of course be excluding consideration of resourcing and their sacred cows (national standards, charter schools). One possible outcome appears to be shifting resources from poorer schools to richer ones.
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.