David Farrar: This is why the Govt is sidelining the Teachers’ Council

The Herald reports:

A damning review of the Teaching Council says the agency has lost focus on its core function of safeguarding children and needs transformative change to ensure it is meeting critical regulatory responsibilities. …

The report says the council is focused on “building the mana” of teachers and “being liked by the profession”.

However, this had come at the expense of child safety and key regulatory and stewardship functions.

“As a regulator, the council will not always be liked. Instead, it should aim to be respected,” Francis wrote.

I’ve chaired a regulator. This was a key thing you would know. Your aim wasn’t popularity but respect, predictability, and fairness.

To have the Teachers’ Council put popularity with teachers ahead of child safety shows why the Government has stripped it of some of its roles. Child welfare is too important not to do so.

David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders