Ditch class size increase – a moratorium won't cut it

Labour is calling on the Government to ditch its plan to increase class sizes and to stop trying to make trade-offs with our children’s education.

“A moratorium just doesn’t cut it. Increasing class sizes is a bad idea. National should just admit it and put a stop to it now.

“It’s wrong to try and make trade-offs with our children’s future by supposedly putting money aside to improve teacher quality at the expense of increased class sizes. This will damage our children’s learning. That’s why Labour will reverse the plan when it is elected to Government.

“It’s about priorities. If you’re looking to save money, perhaps you don’t give a private school like Wanganui Collegiate $3 million in extra funding. It’s marketing itself as having smaller classes and is offering parents a fee reduction.

“Labour believes that education is too important to experiment with. We know that increased class sizes won’t improve the quality of education so why is National so determined to do it?

“There’s no point trying to make minor savings at the expense of our children’s future,” said David Shearer.