Charter schools long overdue - Banks

  • Breaking
  • 30/05/2013

ACT Party leader John Banks says charter schools should have been introduced "a generation ago".

Speaking on Firstline this morning, the Associate Minister of Education defended his controversial Education Amendment Bill, which has its third and final reading next week.

The bill will allow schools run by community organisations, religious groups and businesses to get state funding. They won't have to hire registered teachers and will be able to set their own curriculum and term times.

Mr Banks says underachieving Maori and Pacific Island students stand to benefit the most.

"This is a paradigm shift for the poor and dispossessed right across the country, and we're going to make it work," he says.

"I'm aspirational around Maori and Pasifika, we need to include them. We need to embrace them. We need to give them the opportunity, and I want to put them on a pedestal like they can put the 80 percent of kids that succeed in our education system on a pedestal.

"I want it to work for them. It's going to work for them."

The bill has been bitterly opposed by the Opposition, who say charter schools overseas have failed. A number of proposed amendments to the bill were defeated.

The Maori Party backs the bill – without their support it would fail, as United Future leader Peter Dunne is opposed. Mr Banks says every second young Maori and Pacific Island student fails NCEA level 1.

"The Iwi Education Authority came to the select committee… and said Maori failure in education is institutionalised and expected," says Mr Banks.

"State education has worked well for [Firstline host Rachel Smalley], and it's worked well for me. We've both had world-class educations. But for the long tail of failure – the 20 percent at the bottom – it fails abysmally.

"We can't have every second young Maori and every second young Pacific student leaving school without the basic level of numeracy and literacy to get them the dignity of a career in working."

Mr Banks is opposed to the Government's most recent tinkering with the education system – partnering with Fonterra and Sanitarium to provide breakfasts in low decile schools.

Two newspaper cartoons published earlier this week on the issue have been derided as racist, though not racist enough for Race Relations Commissioner Susan Devoy to take action.

Mr Banks – who is no stranger to accusations of racism – says he hasn't seen the cartoons.

"I don't read cartoons, but I'll tell you what is offensive – sending kids to school hungry is offensive. Throwing money at the problem isn't the answer.

"There's a deep vein of family trauma that runs through this country. We need to deal with the cause and not the problem."

He says he avoids newspaper cartoons nowadays.

"I'm long past looking at cartoons because every second day they might have me in there."

The first charter schools will be set up in Auckland and Christchurch.

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