Prasad Rajen: Education Amendment Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumePrasad Rajen: Education Amendment Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee[Sitting date: 29 May 2013. Volume:690;Page:10526. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Dr RAJEN PRASAD (Labour): I think in time this will be shown to be the unfortunate experiment. If you look at the logic of this bill the Education Amendment Bill and look at the logic of this part of the bill which sets up charter schools it goes something like this—and it is the Government’s theory. It says that there is something wrong with the education system because it produces a tail. Then it goes beyond that and says that it produces a tail because our teachers are trained. That is why it produces a tail—the teachers are trained—and because the management of the schools they go to is in the hands of local boards—local people I say to Mr Simon O’Connor. That is why it fails because it is those people. Then it goes on to say that the tail is created becausethe school has to teach within a broad curriculum. It is quite enabling but that is why it fails. Then the theory that this bill adopts—that this Government adopts—says that it also fails because we hold those teachers and others accountable and because there is public scrutiny of what they do. That is why they fail. So what we will do it says is to set up an alternative model. It sets up an alternative model that actually takes all of those things away which is what charter schools do.I want to say to the Minister in the chair the Associate Minister of Education the Hon Nikki Kaye that there was just a few minutes ago sitting in the gallery a deputy principal of a very highly respected Auckland school. There were two teachers sitting there. I was signalled to go up and see them and I did. This was just about 15 minutes ago. As I went there this highly respected very competent deputy principal was in tears. She was in tears because she said the argument that is being presented here actually misses the point. She asked me why we are following the examples of failed schools why we are not following the examples of the world’s leading educational systems. Why are we not doing that? That person a very highly respected person a person I respect said to me in all sincerity and in tears that if the Government goes down the track of treating the education system in this way this will result in good teachers leaving. That I think is a very sad experiment and a sad commentary.Those are the kinds of comments heard from many many people whom I have spoken to about this. There are so many things wrong with this particular proposal. I accept that the Government side is interested in quality education and I do not understand why the 59 members of the National caucus are supporting this. It is led by a tail which is the ACT Party—if it were not so I say to the Minister in the chair the Government would have signalled this in its last period in Government and it would have done something more about it. It did not. This is the “cup of tea” deal that was done.Hon Trevor Mallard: No.Dr RAJEN PRASAD: Let us go through then and I say—perhaps not; I bow—Hon Trevor Mallard: No Anne Tolley did the planning for it in August—before then.Dr RAJEN PRASAD: Ah. Well it may be so. But I think John Banks then must have been the catalyst that brought this together. Teacher quality is important. There is a high degree of input into the training and development of the personalities that teach in our schools. We expect quality from the teachers. We expect some accountability from them. But here what this bill is saying is that we will not require that for schools that teach to this tail. That is what it is saying I say to the honourable Minister. In fact that requirement is taken out. There is no qualifications requirement. If the belief is that this is what will happen because a few schools—and I have been on the Education and Science Committee as well and I have seen some Pacific Island and Māori groups supporting this. That does not make it right I say to Mr Simon O’Connor. That does not make it right. That does not make it right at all. If that is what they wanted to do there are enough provisions in the current Education Act to allow that to happen and there are many many highly successful special character schools.Colin King: Rubbish! Too much red tape. Too many obstacles.Dr RAJEN PRASAD: The member does not know what he is talking about. Which school of educational philosophy does that member come from or indeed has he studied or understood? There is none that guides this particular one. No respectable educational philosophy guides this model.Tim Macindoe: Tell that to Stuart Middleton. Go and ask Stuart Middleton what he thinks.Dr RAJEN PRASAD: I ask the member to take a call. The members of the Government are very quiet. They are taking very short calls and are not justifying this at all; they are just criticising this side. But come up with the evidence—