More heads better than one

Where does one start? When will it all end? Teachers are hitting the streets in protest at onerous workloads and poor pay, principals are leaving their posts because of stress. Fewer people are keen on working in the sector and those who are have been enticed overseas by better pay and conditions; we are struggling to replace them with our own overseas recruiting.

NCEA is considered to be broken, a major review is under way, and regular reports inform us of demonstrable drops in our children’s literacy and numeracy skills, as part of a steady fall in global rankings.

Now a major taskforce is recommending the biggest shake-up in education in 30 years.

Kiwis used to take pride in their worldclass education system. Not any more.

The taskforce has many opinions and recommendations about what has gone wrong and how to fix it. It has highlighted the breakdown of Tomorrow’s Schools, itself a major, near 30-yearold regime change that was intended to give communities more say in education.

It has advocated the creation of education hubs, to give schools more support and relieve the burden of operational decisions that undermine the focus on education and student well-being.

It has questioned the value of key infrastructure, including the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and the Education Review Office, and pointed out the overlapping agendas and inefficiencies of various government agencies.

Underlying this appears to be a repudiation of a neo-liberal business attitude to education that rode the coat-tails of seemingly democratic reforms of Tomorrow’s Schools. Parents and communities were given more say through the creation of boards of trustees, but over time that impact was lassoed by the tightening noose of bulk-funding, which was eventually scrapped in 2000, and a more administrative focus.

Now, according to the taskforce, targeted decilebased funding of schools is half that of comparable OECD countries, and ‘‘primary schools receive about half the management staffing of secondary schools’’.

That greater focus on accountability inspired competition between schools, where previously there was collaboration. The controversy about schools poaching rugby players to boost first XVs and prestige is but one example of its influence.

But that competition has not just been about funding and luring each other’s pupils. This is not just about money.

Teachers have long battled with the Ministry of Education and numerous governments over key components of the sector and various changes within. The scrap over National Standards left many parents shaking their heads in frustration.

The taskforce has urged all parties to put past disagreements aside, to ‘‘work collectively over a sustained period of time, and this in particular requires cross party support’’.

The decline of our once globally respected education system has occurred under the watch of various governments. We urge all parties to now work together, with teachers and other key participants, to put this right. The issue is too important not to.

The scrap over National Standards left many parents shaking their heads in frustration.