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Media

Recent PPTA press/media releases.

Link to PPTA webpage Posters and archived releases

Budget strips millions from schools to pay for pet projects

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16 May 2013

Millions of dollars have been stripped from the compulsory education sector to pay for ministers’ pet projects, PPTA president Angela Roberts says.

Secondary education will take the biggest hit with a $57.5 million cut, while John Banks’ experimental charter schools will cream $19 million from the taxpayer.

“That’s $19 million stolen from public school students - a heavy price to pay for a coalition agreement and policy the overwhelming majority of New Zealanders do not support,” she said.

“Instead the government should have listened to New Zealand parents and used the slight drop in secondary rolls as an opportunity to reduce class sizes.”

Not all of the projects given extra funding were as dangerous as Banks’ pet however, Roberts said.

Read more...

Voters say no to unregistered teachers and private profiteering – PPTA survey

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14 May 2013

An overwhelming number of respondents to a new survey on charter schools do not want unregistered teachers and private profiteering in taxpayer-funded schools.

PPTA commissioned a survey this week – conducted by MMReasearch – of 600 New Zealand voters and the results released today give a clear picture of public concerns, president Angela Roberts said.
82% of respondents said they did not think charter schools should be allowed to employ untrained and unregistered teachers, while 71% did not want private owners making a profit from taxpayer-funded education.

“This clearly shows the charter schools experiment is against the wishes of the New Zealand public. It is nothing but a sop to the Banks/Isaac 1% party” she said.

With 2100 of the 2193 submissions to the Education and Science Select Committee opposed to the creation of charter schools it appears the government is quite prepared to steamroll the democratic process, Roberts says.

“With the voice of the public so blatantly ignored it is vital to assure protections are put in place.”

Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 May 2013 14:36 Read more...

Continued PB4L funding shows govt/sector collaboration works

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8 May 2013

By announcing the continued funding of the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) programme the government has shown it is prepared to put resources into projects that work.

PPTA president Angela Roberts welcomed minister of education Hekia Parata’s pre-Budget announcement of four years continued funding for the programme.

“PB4L has been a transparent partnership between government and the education sector. This is a great example of the government collaborating with unions, listening to schools and supporting them,” she said.

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 May 2013 08:38 Read more...

Last chance for Maori Party to listen to its voters

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6 May 2013

This week will be the last chance for the Maori Party to listen to those with the highest stake in the future of Maori children – its own voters.

Submissions by the very groups the government says it wants to help with its Education Amendment Bill – including Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu - have made it very clear they do not want charter schools, PPTA president Angela Roberts said.

Roberts urged the party, which has voiced concerns of its own about the legislation, to heed the submissions – and particularly Ngai Tahu’s – before using its deciding vote during the bill’s second reading to inflict charter schools on New Zealand’s children.

Ngai Tahu’s submission says the proposed legislation has “fundamental flaws” and recommends all the sections of the bill empowering the establishment of charter schools be removed.

It describes the schools as creating “an opportunity for the crown to opt out of its responsibility for positively increasing educational achievement for all Maori” and specifically requests that trials not be conducted in any area that has high risk students.

Last Updated on Monday, 06 May 2013 15:51 Read more...

Want to raise achievement? Extend paid parental leave

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17 April 2013

If the government is as serious as it says about raising student achievement extending paid parental leave should be a no-brainer, says PPTA president Angela Roberts.

Roberts, who presented PPTA’s submission on Sue Moroney’s bill to extend paid parental leave from 14 to 26 weeks today, said there was overwhelming international evidence that time spent early on in the life of a child had a positive educational impact.

“Teachers and principals have long recognised the health, early education and wellbeing of their students as being prime factors in their ability to learn and develop successfully through their secondary school years,” she said.

“Give me a student with good health and strong bonds with their parents and I will give you your five out of five.” she said.

A prime example of the success of paid parental leave is Finland, which has one of the best educational records in the world.

Read more...

Select committee ignores submissions on charter schools

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12 April 2013

The Education and Science Select Committee’s decision to recommend the government’s plan to establish charter schools (outlined in the Education Amendment Bill) with only minor changes flies in the face of public opinion says PPTA president Angela Roberts.

“Of the 2,193 submissions presented to the select committee, 2100 were opposed to the creation of charter schools and only 62 were in favour,” she said.

“The committee’s recommendation shows the whole submission process is just a token gesture so a disengaged government can claim it listened to the community and engaged in the democratic process when really it couldn’t care less.”

Read more...

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