By Observer  

This government doesn’t seem to have the slightest commitment to the idea that employers should act in good faith or that the State Sector Act 1988 (s77A) requires schools to “operate a personnel policy that complies with the principles of being a good employer”.   

When it announced its poorly thought-through decision to can ACE (night schools) funding within the 2010 year, it appears to have had no clue as to how schools were meant to pay redundancy costs except that they should use whatever spare ACE money they had.  Even a quick risk analysis would have told them that schools would not have enough to pay if the employees had had a lengthy period of employment. 

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Government funding cuts hit the Ministry of Education

First they shuffle the money out of PD into National Standards, and perhaps out of the Behaviour Action Plan/Special Education into Truancy action, now job losses. 

Apparently this will mean the Ministry will be more efficient,  and less bureaucratic  

Possibly the same logic that says cuts to staffing in schools will allow schools more flexibility?

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By Flying Pig Last month PPTA was notified that the Quality Teaching Partnership Fund (QTPF) will be the latest casualty of cost-cutting at the Ministry of Education.

The QTPF is a fund that has supported the last two subject association forums by covering the cost of accommodation for participants.   PPTA also had funding from it for one of our professional conferences.   

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 By Winged Rodent

At a time when the world focuses on the dangers of climate change, the government appears to be going green -  by recycling its spending this Christmas.  
We could see the $200 million 'budget' allocated to fighting truancy and crime among teens as a form of "up-cycling” – a term coined to describe "the creation of a product with higher intrinsic value from a material at the end of its service life."  
In other words, it is taking an empty ice-cream container, covering it with glitter and calling it a present.

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Don Brash is famous for two things

By ToilandTrouble

1. His willingness to use race in order to advance his campaign for political power in 2005, and:
2. His ability to survive for many weeks on a diet of corned beef and frozen peas.

He is also an economist and we know how many of them it takes to change a light bulb (none, the darkness will cause the light bulb to change itself).  In sum he is overwhelmingly under-qualified to comment on educational matters.  That doesn't matter though because economists are immune to intellectual humility,  untroubled by their own ignorance and always ready to draw a crooked line from an unproved assumption to a forgone conclusion.

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By Winged Avenger

Q.    when is a voucher not a voucher?
A.    when it’s a bulk fund.

Q.    when is a voucher also not a voucher?
A.    when it means the removal of zoning.
 
Q.    when is a voucher good for education?
A.    so far, never…

So, what is a voucher?
“Vouchers” describes various systems that place school funding in the hands of students and families.  The idea is that each student is entitled to access education up to a set value each year.  This value is issued in the form of a voucher.  The student takes the voucher to their chosen school and redeems it for their education.

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Dear Ted

I've been following your recent progress with interest.  Tough times, I'd have to say...  still, Dan's on the mend and the Ozzie captain's been taken out of play - all is not lost.

I've been thinking about all the important aspects of running our great nation and it occurred to me that the new cycle tracks just aren't going to be as much help to our national game as I had hoped - although you might want to take the team for a bit of a ride as part of your bonding programme?  Think of the publicity shots... 100% NZ... pure... yeah... right!  Good one.

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