Scholarships a lifeline for poor pupils

Thank you New Zealand Herald for raising awareness of the issues that not only Papakura High faces, but many other schools in low socio-economic areas throughout NZ.

I work at a decile 2 school in South Auckland, and know well the challenges these students face. As mentioned in the report by Kirsty Johnston, many students have before and after-school responsibilities looking after siblings while their parents work long hours in low-paid jobs, or they are working, not for themselves, but to contribute to the shortfall in income that their families face with the rising cost of living (in particular rent).

These types of issues are not faced by students from wealthier, more privileged areas. These students are able to focus on their studies in a room of their own, have access to the internet, a laptop, plenty of healthy food and access to extra tuition if they start to struggle. With these advantages their academic results are often better and because of this they are able to gain scholarships that minimise the cost of gaining further education.

I was initially under the impression that scholarships were given to those in real financial need, but as the vice-chancellor at one of our most prestigious universities pointed out to me “Scholarships are not just about equity — they are also about attracting very able students to the university, which is why some students at high-decile schools will have also received some of our scholarships”.

But how can this be fair when these “very able” students have become more “able” due to their financial resources?

In addition to university scholarships many higher-decile schools have past pupil alumni that contribute significant levels of funding towards scholarships. Low-decile schools do not have wealthy alumni and therefore struggle to offer scholarships over and above those given by the universities.

One way we can reduce inequality is through tertiary education, but for many in low socio-economic areas the cost is prohibitive. Scholarships are the best way to alleviate the expense, but if a large number of these are already going to those with significant financial resources then there will only be a few going to those that really need them.

Mary Kerrigan, Mangere Bridge.

Politicising common decency

I read that the abolishment of a criminal record for gay men is a sign that the National Party has “moved to the left”. Are common decency and adoption of basic human rights considered left-wing now?

The term refers to a concern for people who are disadvantaged in some way, as well as a belief that there are undeserved inequalities that need to be reduced or abolished. This means supporting policies that, for example, aim to reduce poverty and give workers a living wage so that we all get a fair go. Isn’t that a definition of being a fair-minded decent human being? What kind of people don’t believe in that?

Susan Grimsdell, Auckland Central.

Huge coins belong in past

On my annual pilgrimage to my homeland from NZ, I can’t believe that the coins still used by 20 million Australians weigh so much, stretch my fragile trouser pockets and are a mishmash of sizes that seem to be smaller the more they are worth!

First-world coinage is reflected by lowvalue coins taking little space . . . such as those used in NZ.

While the government powers-that-be have made tidy plastic paper money, they seem determined to keep using up millions of tonnes of precious metals so that we all get exercise carrying it round for our lifetime, wasting so many calories hard-earned on burgers, fries and milkshakes. Rob Buchanan, Melbourne.

Unfair reporting

The article entitled “‘Jailhouse Lawyer’ seeks compo for ‘unlawful’ mass strip search” appearing in the Weekend Herald is absolutely disgusting. The article is reporting on a group of New Zealanders in a New Zealand prison who are seeking compensation for a grave human rights abuse which has been perpetrated against them, and yet the very first word of the article is “notorious”, and the second paragraph details not the events which transpired to cause this group to “demand an apology from the Department of Corrections”, but what crimes various members of the group have been convicted of.

The first thing your article about human rights abuses committed against people in prison does is to dehumanise them. To classify people in prison not by their humanity, not by their personality, not by the families who are missing them, but by their crimes alone is a common mistake but no less of a grave mistake for it.

Strip searching anyone under any circumstances is an invasive and abusive affair that is no less horrible because it is justified as a way to protect people. It is terrible that any individual ever has to experience it, but to strip search 196 people is utterly unjustifiable. Something happened on October 21 at Paremoremo Prison that should never have happened, but it did.

I sincerely hope Arthur Taylor and his fellows win their claim and I sincerely hope you reconsider your attitude towards some of our country’s most vulnerable citizens.

Rebecca Stubbing, Epsom.

Healthy democracy

Healthy democracy needs a strong Opposition too, one that is not unnecessarily undermined by political/ media commentators. It already has a hard row to hoe, this election year, in the present thriving economic climate and its message that therefore all is well. The purely beltway dissection of the Willie Jackson “debacle” by Audrey Young is simply a new way to attack Andrew Little now that John Key’s departure has levelled the playing field.

Stick to the important issues. Half our population are really struggling with the very high immigration rate and its attendant pressures on infrastructure, most of all our lack of affordable housing.

The current minimal-interventionist, under-funding governance style of National suits people who own their own homes, have secure jobs, and can pay for extra services if required. It suits the agricultural community who profit more from degraded waters and over-farmed land.

And as much as we would like to ignore the underclass, lock up criminals and druggies and replace less-productive workers with skilled, aspirational immigrants, we in fact have a moral duty to see that everyone in NZ society is governed well, and that these real problems are fixed, not denied.

B. Darragh, Auckland Central.

Russian expansionism

Renewed military clashes in Ukraine signify once again the danger posed to global stability from Russian expansionist policies implemented by the Putin regime.

US President Trump appears reluctant to accept the danger posed by Putin and the Russian military threat to Western democracies, stating “I can do business with the guy”. Similar rhetoric was expressed by Neville Chamberlain in his attempts to appease Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, with current Russian aggression being consistent with Nazi incursion during that period into neighbouring European countries.

Tough talk, more stringent sanctions, a substitute for Russian energy exports and military retaliation is the only “language” Putin understands.

Let us hope President Trump pays heed to his Pentagon advisers and there is no repeat of history.

P.J. Edmondson, Tauranga.

Saving the whales

So there has been yet another report of catastrophic pilot whale strandings in Golden Bay. There will be many more unless a successful way is found of reducing these.

Following a similar incident in 1993 (with many similar strandings since then) as head of the then Auckland Meteorological Office, I was invited along with others to attend a seminar in Nelson organised by whale experts of the time to consider these disasters with the aim of future preventions. The methods tried have to date proved unsuccessful. The most popular was to create and maintain a curtain of bubbles which the whales would detect with their sonar equipment and confuse due to differences in density between air and water as a solid object and reverse their approach to nonreflecting shallow coastal approaches.

On my return I looked into establishing another method which I felt, and still feel, would be simpler, cheaper and more effective than other methods tried to date.

During my initial period in the Meteorological Service we used a “corner reflector” which was attached to a hydrogen balloon and followed by radar to altitudes up to 5km or more to obtain upper winds and other data. (The corner reflector returns a radar or sonar echo directly to the source of emission). The position of the balloon and its reflector were known with great accuracy. The reflector was made from cheap, light, preconstructed tinfoil triangles attached to a light wooden frame. These flights took place four times a day at about 10 observatories around New Zealand with other flights from islands extending over our area of responsibility from the equator to the subantarctic.

I propose that a similar method, a good deal cheaper than those already tried, could be with fixed reflectors widely spaced and at a suitable depth to warn approaching whale schools that land lay ahead. The reflection/emission “target” would be simplified to an almost horizontal plane and an azimuth of less than 180 degrees. Servicing the reflectors would be comparatively cheap and no doubt adapted with use.

Jim Hessell, Parnell.