Education Amendment Bill an attack on public education

The Government's Education Amendment Bill is an attack on public education and will hurt vulnerable children, the Green Party said today.

"The bill legislates for profit-making charter schools to operate at a level of secrecy unprecedented in the education sector," Green Party education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said.

Charter schools can expel students without allowing parents any recourse through the ombudsman, and will not have to provide the information other schools have to under the OIA.

"The Education Minster talks about her aim for schools to be accountable and transparent, but this legislation is the polar opposite.

"This Bill undermines our hugely successful public education system, allowing profit making schools to operate with untrained teachers and none any of the normal checks and balances imposed on a school, and it lets profit making preschools set up on Ministry land.

"Charter schools are an enormously expensive, and frighteningly dangerous experiment to solve a problem that doesn't exist.

"Quite simply, they are the result of a dodgy deal between the Government and a one-man-band party whose agenda is to privitise education.

"I hope all MPs stand up to oppose this attack on our schools," Ms Delahunty said.