Labour is tonight in mourning for the autonomy teachers have lost over their own profession with the passing of the Education Amendment Bill, Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins says.

"Education Minister Hekia Parata’s new law is the final nail in the coffin for teachers wanting representation on their own professional body.

Labour is calling on the Government to reverse a decision to cut teacher and student access to specialist non-fiction National Library books amid fears it will have a detrimental effect on learning, especially for smaller schools and those that do not have full access to online resources.

The Government is getting rid of the current print lending service and replacing it with a new ‘reading engagement service’, meaning teachers will no longer be able to order books for specialist topic studies.

A Government rule change denying access to thousands of young Kiwis access to tertiary education is doing nothing to build a smart, fair future, Labour’s Tertiary Education spokesperson David Cunliffe said today. 

“NZQA rules changed by the Government have reduced student enrolments from 71% to 58%, or by about 4000 students as UE has been lifted from NCEA 2 to NCEA 3.

A new report shows Gerry Brownlee is the latest Cabinet Minister to have contracted the infectious tell-porkies-until-you-are-caught disease, Labour’s Chief Whip Chris Hipkins says.

“A Civil Aviation Report out today shows that despite being an extremely recognisable figure, Gerry Brownlee managed to sneak through a security door before an airport employee could warn him not to.

That just 90 of the country’s 2500 schools have signed up to the Government's one-size-fits all performance pay scheme confirms a wide-spread lack of confidence in it, Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins says.

“The scheme, which creates ‘executive’ and ‘lead teacher’ roles – positions that will be paid significant bonuses to advise outside of their own schools – was overwhelmingly rejected by primary teachers.

New decile rankings have South Auckland schools at scores that show they are much more disadvantaged than the national average, says Labour’s Associate Auckland  Issues spokesperson Louisa Wall. 

“As a measurement of disadvantage it is alarming that the average score in South Auckland across the local board areas of Papakura, Manurewa, Mangere-Otahuhu, Otara-Papatoetoe and Maungakiekie-Tamaki was just over 400 compared to the Auckland region’s average score of 234.