Charter school problems

Charter schools pose a number of problems for the coalition government. Labour had made it clear for a long time that it opposed the schools. But now it seems that the Government can’t stop some planned charter schools from opening because of contracts signed with the previous government.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins is, as a result, pedalling back from his earlier statement that four charter schools due to open in 2019 wouldn’t go ahead. It seems fairly clear that the new Government can’t renegue on contracts signed by the former one. The law is the law.

That, however, is a passing problem born out of the transition between governments. In future, Labour will prevent new charter schools, as it is entitled to do. It has campaigned against charter schools and promised to get rid of them. In that, it has a far better mandate to stop further schools than the National-led Government ever had for introducing them in the first place. The charter schools were cooked up in a deal between National and its helper party Act.

The charter schools represented a major shift in education policy promoted by a tiny far-right party whose voter support was negligible.

The larger problem for the coalition, however, is what to do about charter schools in the future. It has a political problem because important characters in its ranks, such as Willie Jackson, have previously been outspoken supporters of the schools.

And some eminent former Labourites such as Michael Cullen have wondered how a progressive government might allow for more choice and experimentation in education than under the present system.

The motivation of Maori leaders such as Jackson is understandable enough. The education system is clearly still unsuited for too many Maori students. The gap between Pakeha and Maori achievement in schools remains disturbingly large.

So some Maori leaders turned to charter schools as allowing a new and freer way of aiding poor Maori students.

The system certainly needs enough flexibility and scope to allow experimentation and new approaches to this fundamental problem. The question is how to allow this while removing the grave problems associated with charter schools, such as the use of unregistered teachers and excessive support from taxpayers?

Greater use of the provisions for schools of special character might provide a way. Or perhaps the schools could be integrated, retaining some of their better features. This would need to be done carefully.

It is essential that the scales aren’t weighted in favour of the schools, either in funding or in operating lower standards when assessing pupils’ progress.

National gave privileges to charter schools just as it gave excessive privileges to some private schools such as Wanganui Collegiate, which was allowed to integrate while continuing to charge extraordinarily high fees for families who sent their children there.

In each case it was wrong.