Online charter schools not the answer

Government plans to open up the Correspondence School Te Kura to corporate entities or charter schools could have terrible consequences for the quality of education that children receive, the Green Party said today.

National’s Education (Update) Amendment Bill introduced today will change how education is delivered in Aotearoa. This includes creating Communities of Online Learning (COOL) that will threaten the existence of the Correspondence School Te Kura.

“Online charter schools that use public money for private profit don’t provide the education that students need,” Green Party education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said.

“Student success relies upon high quality teachers and engagement, but this Bill opens the way for an unstructured online learning that undermines this.

“Putting more money and resources in charter school coffers at the expense of the public education system undermines every child’s education.

“Online learning shouldn’t be pushed on students just because it may be the cheapest option for a company. Children need a Government that takes the responsibility of providing an education seriously.

“While it is positive to be having a discussion about the purpose of education, giving money to private companies is not the answer.

“It is positive that the Bill opens a discussion about the purposes of education as an important first step,” Ms Delahunty said. 

Latest Education Announcements

Story

NCEA changes doom thousands of students to failure

The National Party’s decision to scrap NCEA entirely guarantees many thousands of children will leave school with no qualification, no love of lear...
Read More

Story

Greens call on Luxon to abandon racist education reforms

The Green Party is urging Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to abandon amendments to the Education and Training Act following the Waitangi Tribunal’...
Read More

Story

Government cuts education funding while youth unemployment soars

Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson says the Government is callously trading away New Zealanders’ education opportunities to pay for tax cuts for...
Read More

Story

Government once again squeezing young people into one-size-fits-all model

The Green Party has serious concerns with the proposed changes to NCEA by Luxon’s Government, which will undo decades of progress towards a student...
Read More

Story

Scrapping NCEA will take Aotearoa Back to the Future

The government’s proposal to scrap NCEA risks turning back the clock on decades of progress toward a student-centred system.
Read More

Story

Budget 2025 leaves future of school lunches uncertain

The future of the Ka Ora | Ka Ako school lunch programme looks to be uncertain with Budget 2025 failing to provide any funding beyond 2026. 
Read More