Inequality seen in education

Press, 12 November 1985, Page 6

Inequality seen in education

PA Auckland School zoning reinforces racial segregation and separates the rich from the poor, says the principal of Selwyn College, Mr Bob Ford.

dross inequality of educational opportunity existed in New Zealand, he said at the school’s annual prizegiving. “Our education system reinforces tendencies for our society to be segregated, intolerant and polarised,” he said. If society looked at the

per capita spending of money on the education of Polynesian students, it would have more in common with South Africa than imagained, said Mr Ford. The education system also separated the so-called bright from the dull. “By doing this it is predetermining that 50 per cent are labelled as dull and publicises which is which,” he said.

Mr Ford said many of those who did best in the education system and who would have the more affluent and powerful positions in society would have little understanding and tolerance for cultural difference or economic and social deprivation. He approved of changes, such as the abolition of University Entrance examinations, but felt symptoms rather than causes were addressed. “I believe that the proportion of students passing through our schools who are unmotivated, have lost their self-respect, feel that they have no stake in society and no good reason to accept its basic precepts, is increasing and that this is an ugly and dangerous sign for the future,” he said. Emphasis on examination

awards and reports and on ranking students with their peers — presumably so that bright students and their parents felt good and as convenient criteria for selection by employers and tertiary institutions — was a basic flaw in the education system. Students, employers and the public had a right to demand better than that, he said. Mr Ford said schools should be encouraged to build up a system of documentation and reporting that profiled a whole range of students’ skills.

These included qualities such as punctuality, ability to meet deadlines, ability to follow instructions, to work unsupervised as well as specific subject skills.

“Then all students would have realistic goals within our education system," he said.