This package to settle the teachers and principal’s agreement is the final offer from the Government, and will add $680 million to the $3.76 billion already set aside by the Government to resolve this issue. The extra money is coming from savings found in departmental funding through project deferrals, a forecast underspend on staffing and removing the reimbursement of bank staffing.
The Post Primary Teachers Association is “pleased” to see the offer and will be recommending to members they accept it ahead of a vote next week.
Wouldn’t that be good.
I think we all agree teachers are undervalued. I think we accept their argument for a pay increase matching inflation, better conditions so they can do their jobs more effectively and a deal which attracts and retains teachers.
Surely these have been met by this offer, and surely they will accept.
I’m not sure even parents who consider education fundamental for our children and the country, and believe the value of teachers should be reflected monetarily, can stomach the use of their children as pawns in this stalemate anymore.
It was always expected that as the election draws near the Government would want to demonstrate it values education and teachers – it wants their votes after all. Equally, the PPTA could be concerned about a potential change in government and more austere times ahead, so are trying to get the best deal they can now.
This deal seems to tick both boxes, and it's time for the Ministry, teachers and principals to get back to prioritising students.
Yesterday, data came to light from the Education Ministry showing that last year 75 percent of school leavers attained NCEA Level 2 or above – down from 81 percent in 2017. Māori school leavers fared worse, with just 59 percent getting NCEA Level 2 or above.
The overall figure should come with some context. Many students began working during Covid, apprenticeships are on the rise and unemployment levels have been low, but serious work needs to be done to find more ways to keep students in some form of education.
I’m not saying teachers haven’t been putting their students first. But you’ve got to admit, the ongoing pay stalemate has been a distraction.
Let’s get back to focusing on the real issue; finding a way to successful educate all Kiwi kids.
Francesca is a well known film reviewer, writes for NZ Herald's Timeout magazine, and contributes to Jack Tame's Newstalk show. This article was first published HERE
I think we all agree teachers are undervalued. I think we accept their argument for a pay increase matching inflation, better conditions so they can do their jobs more effectively and a deal which attracts and retains teachers.
Surely these have been met by this offer, and surely they will accept.
I’m not sure even parents who consider education fundamental for our children and the country, and believe the value of teachers should be reflected monetarily, can stomach the use of their children as pawns in this stalemate anymore.
It was always expected that as the election draws near the Government would want to demonstrate it values education and teachers – it wants their votes after all. Equally, the PPTA could be concerned about a potential change in government and more austere times ahead, so are trying to get the best deal they can now.
This deal seems to tick both boxes, and it's time for the Ministry, teachers and principals to get back to prioritising students.
Yesterday, data came to light from the Education Ministry showing that last year 75 percent of school leavers attained NCEA Level 2 or above – down from 81 percent in 2017. Māori school leavers fared worse, with just 59 percent getting NCEA Level 2 or above.
The overall figure should come with some context. Many students began working during Covid, apprenticeships are on the rise and unemployment levels have been low, but serious work needs to be done to find more ways to keep students in some form of education.
I’m not saying teachers haven’t been putting their students first. But you’ve got to admit, the ongoing pay stalemate has been a distraction.
Let’s get back to focusing on the real issue; finding a way to successful educate all Kiwi kids.
Francesca is a well known film reviewer, writes for NZ Herald's Timeout magazine, and contributes to Jack Tame's Newstalk show. This article was first published HERE
2 comments:
In a world (NZ) where the Ministry, Pricipals and Teachers have been told that a specific ideology (we know what it is) is more important than real world English, Maths, Science and History and where those subjects have be corrupted by the same ideology, children have just become pawns on the checker board of that ideolody.
It is not time that the Ministry, Pricipals and Teachers got back to prioritising children, that priority should never have been sidelined by the perverse ideolological thinking of people like those at the NZCER.
If change is to happen then the entire educational industry needs an overhaul. Let us remind the Ministry, Pricipals and Teachers that children are the reason they are there and why they exist in the institutions called schools.
Let NZ look to Singapore (and others) with its focus on actually educating children for the real world rather than what the Ministry, Pricipals and Teachers have been doing in NZ which has very, very clearly failed - progressively.
It is very sad that we now have such failure across so many capable children caused soley by a few perverse ideologues who have infected the system with their beliefs rather than the desire to have children succeed.
By educating all children do you mean Universal literacy (and Numeracy) in particular, which should be achieved at primary schools or do you you mean students sitting in classrooms for 10 years or so, but leaving school without obtaining adult level competencies in the basics? This is what we have now.
I am not at all against a pay increase but as has been repeated on this site before, where is the proof more money put into education makes any improvement? This century NZ has had a higher expenditure on education than most OECD countries but at the same time our standards have plummeted.
We are not focusing on students, Francesca, until we abandon the destructive ideologies in current education, that is cause of all the failure.
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