Rich Katherine: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Rich Katherine: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:638;Page:8694] 
2.  
KATHERINE RICH (National) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: What if anything did he learn about education standards from his visit to Botswana “to progress international education opportunities”? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Leader of the House) 
 on behalf of the  
Minister of Education 
: During the Minister’s recent trip to South Africa to attend the 16th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers he responded to an outstanding invitation to the previous Minister to visit Botswana. The main objective of the visit was to discuss the targeting of New Zealand as a study destination for tertiary students. Botswana has a capacity problem currently with only one university and another under development. 
Katherine Rich 
: How does the Minister think the people of Botswana would feel now that he has implicitly bagged their education system in particular their exam system and does he think he might offer to refund the people of Botswana for his hotel costs as he has been such an ungracious guest? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The people of New Zealand paid for his hotel costs in Botswana. On the other matter actually the Botswana Ministry of Education like many post-colonial countries has recently moved to introduce its own examination system replacing the Cambridge system. 
Moana Mackey 
: Why do students from Botswana want to come and study in New Zealand? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: They want to come here for the very simple reason that we have a world-class education system. In particular of course they want to come here for New Zealand’s university and polytechnic system. I might say that the Minister for Tertiary Education was recently approached by the Ugandan High Commissioner on a similar matter. 
Katherine Rich 
: Is the Minister embarrassed that a spokesman for the President of Botswana was moved to contact Radio New Zealand National to put the record straight about his veiled criticism of Botswana’s education system when Botswana is achieving better literacy rate gains than New Zealand and when we look at Unesco figures of literacy Botswana has a youth literacy rate of 94 percent and New Zealand has a blank line? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: When I saw a press statement issued referring to Bill English as the leader of the National Party I did have doubts about our literacy rates in New Zealand. But on checking I found in fact that that was some kind of error and no doubt was wishful thinking on Mr English’s part. New Zealand has an extremely high literacy rate. Botswana of course coming off a lower base has had bigger gains in literacy—that is not very surprising. 
Katherine Rich 
: When visiting Botswana did the Minister talk about the nearly 5000 New Zealand students who were stood down in 2005 for bad language particularly verbal abuse of staff and students; and does the Minister think that his language in Parliament yesterday makes it any easier for teachers to stop this kind of language being used in schools? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The Minister obviously accepts that the language he used yesterday was inappropriate in the House. I note that if senior secondary school students read D H Lawrence they would certainly come across that word and if they read  
Once Were Warriors 
 they would have difficulty coming across any other word. 
Katherine Rich 
: Can the Minister explain what should happen in a school today if a student swears at a teacher and then says: “If it’s OK for the Minister of Education it’s OK for me to use that kind of language.”? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The Minister apologised to the House once he realised what he had actually said. If the member opposite thinks that no New Zealand schoolchild has used that word she lives in a very rarefied ivory tower indeed. 
Katherine Rich 
: Does the Minister think it is a diplomatic faux pas for a Minister of Education to be the guest of Botswana and to have his hotel costs paid for by the good people of Botswana only to bag their education system so that a spokesman of the President of Botswana was moved to ring Radio New Zealand National to put the record straight; and has the Minister spoken to the Minister of Foreign Affairs because this could potentially be a diplomatic faux pas? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: No but the one thing I can say is that it is good to know that when somebody rings  
Morning Report 
 to set the record straight they do sometimes set it straight!