There are not that many silver bullets when it comes to society’s challenges, but public education is certainly one of them!
The insane situation at Kelston Boys High where a hostile takeover by a 3rd party Charter School operator has shocked many Kiwis who had no idea David Seymour’s legislation allowed for this.
On top of everything else now, do parents at State Schools need to fear a hostile Charter School takeover?
Our public education system is the envy of the world and it does perform really well.
- We score above the OECD average in reading, science, and mathematics
- NZ is 4th highest in OECD for proportion of adults with a tertiary degree.
- In the OECD we 10th in reading and 11th in science.
While it is true post Covid that we have had issues in math, overall our public education system is very good – so why are we allowing private operators to move in, deunionise teachers and set up a system for private profit?
Most Kiwis would have thought that a school and the community they serve had to want to become a Charter School, but the legislation pushed through by ACT allowed for 3rd Party Hostile takeovers like we are seeing at Kelston.
The Bradbury Group received this week a copy of the application to take over Kelston Boys High and they are claiming Kelston Boys High is a violent school.
“It exposes names of police officers, specific incidents, and details of police operations that appear to have been included without formal approval. The text describes police setting up checkpoints outside the school, escorting students at Polyfest, and bringing a paddy wagon to control post-game violence.”
How can accusations like that be made without context to justify taking over a Public School without the community responding?
Low Māori and Pacifica education scores are used as a justification to take over public schools, which are legitimate concerns but fundamentally wrong solutions.
The solutions to low Māori and Pacifica education outcomes are better resourced and funded public schools, it’s not handing them over to make profit.
If the take over of Kelston is successful, expect many public schools to face these types of take overs.
