Roger Partridge: The square root of nonsense

In a stunning display of temporal gymnastics, Labour leader Chris Hipkins has unveiled a novel explanation for New Zealand’s maths education crisis. He’s blaming it on a policy that Labour scrapped over six years ago.

Responding to the Coalition-government’s radical plan to actually teach children mathematics, Hipkins pointed the finger squarely at National Standards. That’s the John Key-led National government’s assessment system Hipkins consigned to the educational dustbin in 2017. In so doing, Hipkins has created a fascinating new branch of mathematics where cause and effect operate in reverse.