Education policy defended

Press, 21 August 1982, Page 6

Education policy defended

PA Palmerston North. The New Zealand news media had been content to dance to the emotive tune of education pressure groups, said the Minister of Education. Mr Wellington, yesterday.

Mr Wellington told the Parent-Teacher Association annual conference in Palmerston North that the public had been subjected to a “welter of headlines about chops, cuts, slashes, axing, hatches, and scything.

"Most of it is emotive and certainly all of it is extravagant. I say extravagant because not one dollar has been lost from (school operations, not one single teacher or piece of chalk or overhead transparency or piece/, of sports equipment has been removed because of the socalled cuts,” he said.

Mr Wellington -said riot enough journalists were prepared to take a balanced approach to pressure-group s&tements because they had

been conditioned by them. “If one were to judge the state of education by the comments frorn so many pressure groups as reported in the news media — and for many people that is their only source of information — you and thousands of parents could be excused for believing that your children were being short-changed." He called on “certain education groups to more rationally and responsibly represent the issues to the public." They, would otherwise discredit themselves and the profession of teaching, in the eyes of the public, Mr Wellington said. He said he had two principles firmly in mind when he reviewed spending on education this year. “First, to protect the essential work of the teacher for the pupil in the class- ■ room. Second, to give a clear priority to those for whom their educational opportunity was their first.”

Some commentators who “laid great stress” on this year's rise in the education vote of just over 9 per cent had overlooked the fact that school rolls were dropping, the wage freeze meant there would be no salary increases this year, and there was less demand for new schools and buildings, Mr Wellington said.

In. 1977, the teacher-pupil ratio was moved from 1:35 to 1:31, and in small rural schools to 1:25, he said. The introduction of national roll status for certain schools had resulted in staff "improvements.

"I instance these to demonstrate that the Government has not broken a single promise and that it has been firmly determined to provide an adequate education for your children by selective, qualitative improvements," he said.

The Government had agreed with the New Zealand Educational Institute to a

guaranteed staffing scheme this year which provided better protection for permanent teachers in positions jeopardised bv'falling rolls. The then N.Z.E.I. president had privately thanked him when the scheme was agreed to, Mr Wellington said. “Now why the discrepancy between private and public statements from the N. Why mislead the public by saying little or nothing has been done.?" If the N.Z.E.I. intended to “mount a purely political campaign surreptitiously disguised under the cover of endeavouring to get a better deal for the pupil, my advice to it and any other organisation which may be constrained to take a similar stance is to forget it,” he said. Mr Wellington charged the Labour party's education spokesman, Mr C. R. Marshall, with “not playing fair with the public’ in using O. figures to claim

New Zealand education was’ not getting a fair share of tax revenue.

The O.E.C.D. had itself rejected the validity of comparing between member countries education spending as a percentage of gross domestic product.

The Government, "in spite of some mischievous statements .from other quarters,” had no intention o£ changing its review procedure for special operating grants. Mr Wellington said he hoped to announce new grant rates, effective from next April 1. before Christmas. The Government also had approved a $900,000 allocation to education, boards- for more basic equipment this year.

"A further $l.B million is being made available for art and craft and infant,apparatus in schools. This represents an increase of 20 per cent jon last year." .