Lushington D. Brady: It’s as Easy as Tahi, Rua, Toru

National prioritise public money for useful subjects.

Which do you think your hard-earned tax dollars would be better spent on? Kids who leave school equipped with world-leading maths skills? Or kids who leave school barely able to count to 10, but able to do so in a language spoken by just 0.0025 per cent of the world?

Michael Bassett: Chris Hipkins and educational failure

The other day when I opened a campaign letter from Chris Hipkins containing a spelling mistake and a considerable amount of gobbledegook, I couldn’t help thinking back to Peter Fraser, Labour’s greatest leader. He was also Minister of Education. I published a biography of him in 2001 and I know quite a lot about Fraser. He was not just someone who held the Education portfolio. Reflecting his stern Highlands Scots upbringing, he was passionate about it, believing that education was the only sure ladder for people wanting to lead useful lives. Fraser and his Director-General of Education, Dr C.E. Beeby, were associated with some amazing achievements: over fourteen years the percentage of children receiving a secondary education in New Zealand rose from 58% to 92%, and the numbers attending universities increased by 150%. Consultation with the public through representative committees became the norm. No spelling mistakes from Fraser, and no gobbledegook.