U-turn makes local MP and principal wary

A local Hamilton MP and school principal have reacted warily to Education Minister Hekia Parata’s U-turn on proposed staff-pupil ratio changes.

The minister announced today the Government had decided not to make the changes after it became clear parents did not accept them.

Interviewed this afternoon, Hamilton-based list Labour MP Sue Moroney said she is warily optimistic about the back down.

“We will be watching very carefully what they intend to do because everything that they have come up with in recent weeks has actually reduced the quality of education.”

Principal of Melville Intermediate, David Cooke, says that while this is positive news he is a little sceptical.

“My initial thought is that it’s taken an unreasonably long time for common sense to prevail,” he said.

“The briefing paper from the Treasury to the Ministry of Education was accepted uncritically when if it had been thought through there would have been serious flaws found in Treasury advice.”

Cooke said that if they are seeking to improve the quality of teaching and seeking to improve the level of student achievement then a genuine engagement with those people in the business would have been a sensible place to start.

“I would be very interested to see the detail of this ‘solution’.”

National’s popularity dropped below 50%  according to the latest Colmar Brunton Poll.