Mallard Trevor: Urgent Debates — Education—School Review Programme 
Mallard Trevor: Urgent Debates — Education—School Review Programme 
[Volume:615;Page:11227] 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister of Education) 
: 
 I think I can now understand why Don Brash is the leader of the National Party. The member who has just resumed his seat is the member who not more than 3 weeks ago described my policy in that area as “sensible”. That is what he said. He is the member who said: “Falling rolls are a reality and will be for decades to come. Birth rates are dropping and according to even the most optimistic immigration forecasts there will be fewer children entering school. That much is understood.” He is the member who said that he proposes three restrictions on the freedom to choose. First if a school becomes a one-teacher school it must take part—not choose to take part—in an educational development initiative. He agrees that education development initiatives can empower school boards to find their own solutions for improving education provision. He would force 126 schools into education development initiatives and he would require even the schools we have just reviewed to go into education development initiatives. 
Hon Bill English 
: Don’t be stupid. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I agree with the member: his policy is stupid. He would also require that if a school became 30 percent empty it must also take part in a education development initiative. 
In New Zealand over 400 schools have more than 30 percent spare capacity. It is in the nature of the changes that have occurred. So what do we have now? We have the National Party spokesperson on education announcing that over 500 schools would be the subject of a review if he were the Minister—over 500 schools. He then says that if a school consistently failed to provide adequate education to its pupils it could be closed or required to join an education development initiative. The only measures we have of that are Education Review Office reports and supplementary reviews. I understand that out of about 2600 schools 129 are currently having supplementary reviews—and he would put them into a review process as well. That member 3 weeks ago used the description “sensible” and on 4 February heannounced that 650 schools would go into review according to National Party policy. That was not quoted by some journalist; that was from an article he wrote himself—or from an article some stooge wrote for him which he put his name to. That is what Bill English said. He said that under National Party policy 650 schools would go into review. That is much more extensive than anything that has occurred under this Government. Because this Government has made some decisions in order to focus on education he is now recanting on his promises to review. Or is he? I did not hear him withdraw. I did not hear him apologise. I did not hear him say: “Sorry I was wrong when I promised to review 650 schools if I became the Minister.” What we have now is quite a lot of silence. There is not a whisper from him—not a murmur not a word. That member is quiet now because he knows he has been caught. 
Hon Bill English 
: No one believes you. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: No one has to believe me. All that people have to do is to read the second edition of the  
Dominion Post  
of 4 February to see the words spoken by the Hon Bill English formerly the Leader of the Opposition and to read what he said he would do. In this House we are required to believe members. I believe him. I believe what he said. I believe he is honest. I believe he would put 650 schools under review because that is what he said in an article in the paper. 
 Having said that as I explained to people yesterday the Government—and I in particular—came to a point where we found that on just about every occasion I made an appointment to see a school the school would get anxious about whether it was to be reviewed. There was a classic case of a school up in Northland—I have lost the name of the school but I think it was in Peter Jones’ area—which was providing wonderful environmental education. I popped in to see the school and I saw there an enormous number of parents. The cars were lined up—they were all over the place. I thought: “Hell it’s early in the morning. This is a great welcome!” Of course the parents were scared that I had come to announce a review of their school. Their school is a good successful school with a growing roll in an area of the country that has growing rolls. But I found that when I made an appointment to visit a school—and even schools in those parts of my own electorate that have roll growth and are not areas of review—it would think that I was doing a review. 
This Government is doing some wonderful things in education this year. Later in the year some early childhood education announcements will be made that will reinforce the position we already have as a world leader in early childhood education. We have AsTTle rolling out which makes an enormous difference. These tools help teachers and parents to understand their kids and to learn what their strengths and weaknesses are. They are world-leading tools—the work of the University of Auckland which has been contracted to do it for the ministry since I have been the Minister. People from all around the world are coming to have a look at them. We have planning and reporting around which there is some debate and anxiety in some quarters. But it will mean that parents will be able to see in the reports of their schools what the schools are planning to do. The reporting against those objectives will be of a quality we have never seen before. That is rolling out now. From the annual reports I have received from last year that information will be available. It will be quality information about educational objectives of a sort we have never seen before in New Zealand. 
At the top end of the scale—as I was explaining to my colleague the Minister of Finance who had slightly mixed views on it—it appears that as a result of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement we might have retention rates at the top end of our schools higher than we have had previously. It is all anecdotal so far but we will get the 1 March returns and have a good look at them. Some people who were not succeeding are now succeeding. I think that is great. It is making an enormous difference in our schools. 
This year for the first time in many years we will have a scholarship examination. It will be a separate examination externally assessed—and really difficult—for year 13 students as part of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement. It will stretch people. It is our expectation that students who pass it in a particular subject will go straight into stage II courses at universities. I have put a warning out to schools to try to discourage them from entering too many students because the standards will be so high. There will be rewards for those students There will be rewards from each school as long as they pass the scholarship—that is three passes in three subjects. The top student at every school will get a 3-year scholarship. There will be scholarships for the top student in each subject within the scholarship examinations and for those who do not have a scholarship examination in the National Certificate of Educational Achievement at level 3. So the top student in the country will get a reward. There will be $5000-a-year scholarships for 3 years for those students who get three of the outstanding level passes. So if they are outstanding in three subjects they will get a scholarship worth $5000 a year. That is a real reward for academic performance. For the very top students there will be $15000 a year for the top student in New Zealand for 3 years and $10000 for the second-placed student. 
This Government is into promoting excellence. But the problem I have is that with all these—and many more—wonderful things happening in education when I try to go to a school to talk to people about them they think I am coming to close it. That is just hopeless. That is why we have made the policy change. I hope we can now focus on positive aspects of education. Most of all I will be ensuring that schools all over the country get a copy of Mr English’s promise to review 650 of them if he becomes the Minister.