It could happen very quickly. In 2011, Britain's newly elected Conservative government introduced 16 charter schools (they called them free schools) to the public education system. These were staunchly opposed by the teachers' unions and the Labour Party, which attacked them as inefficient and ideological. Today in the UK, there are 650 free schools that have enrolled more than 350,000 students, and more are in the pipeline.
In New Zealand, the re-establishment of charter schools was a major policy win for Act in the coalition agreement. Leader David Seymour holds an associate education portfolio and he's won $153 million in this year's Budget to establish 15 new charter schools and transition 35 state schools to the charter model. He aims to have the first contracts negotiated by the end of the year so the first charters can begin teaching in term one next year. Labour leader Chris Hipkins has pledged to re-abolish the charter school model when Labour returns to government.
Seymour has been here before. In 2014, he entered Parliament as Act's leader and sole MP, becoming parliamentary undersecretary to the Minister of Education with special responsibility for charter schools in John Key's National-led government. These had been established two years earlier in a coalition arrangement with Seymour's predecessor, John Banks. When the government changed in 2017, Hipkins as Education Minister quickly disestablished the charters, folding the 11 schools established under Act and National into the state system.
Teacher Nina Hood worked at Auckland's Epsom Girls and Mt Roskill Grammar Schools before completing a PhD at Oxford, studying educational theory. The researcher and Education Hub founder has forthright opinions about nearly every aspect of the New Zealand education system - except charter schools, about which she's deeply ambivalent. Hood served on the charter schools establishment board before standing down.
Denne historien er fra September 9, 2024-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra September 9, 2024-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
