工党领袖 大卫谢尔 （David Shearer）、工党教育事务发言人纳那亚•玛胡塔 （Nanaia Mahuta）

新西兰老百姓们比以往任何时候都要加倍辛苦地打拼，他们要交税、要为孩子作出正确的选择，同时也希冀这个政府能尽最大努力为孩子们提供最好的教育。

然则新西兰全国各地的学校眼下都被逼着要裁减教师人数，他们之中很多人都是阅读和其他重要课目领域的专家，如此一来上述新西兰家庭都将受到损失。

工党领袖大卫•谢尔说：我和我选区里一些中学的教职员工谈过，上周预算案关于教育政策的改变意味着他们的学校将失去一些教师、并将面临班级学生人数膨胀。

Avondale 和Balmoral中学将要裁员3至4个教师。而Manurewa中学如果想要继续开设技术类课程，将不得不把班级学生人数增加到每班36人以上――还得再裁掉5个教师。

在员工们眼中，班级人数增多和专业教师的失业都揭示了国家党政府的单方面背信弃约。他们都是教科学和技术科目的老师――正是这些科目常常启发学生的学习热情。

对于新西兰的新一代，这些都是至关重要的科目――它们引导学生最终步入贸易和工业领域，而这些领域又正是我国面临严重技能短缺的软肋。

工党教育事务发言人纳那亚•玛胡塔指出：教育部长甚至自己都承认被财政部以省钱的理由牵着鼻子走。她选择的交换条件就是增加班级人数并在把教师人数封顶在现有水平直到2016年为止。
班级规模变大、班级人数增多实际意味着：孩子们得到一个恶劣的起点，低分值学校工作的教职员工流失，教师们的压力增加，教学创新减少，家长们在眼下这样一个艰难时期则要面临更大的募款压力。

国家党政府一边说他们要一个创新、产能型经济，另一边却剥夺了学校为那些核心学科提供技术科目师资的能力。

国家党说要通过扩大班级规模省下的钱对师资进行再投入――实际行动却离题万里。

David
SHEARER
Labour Leader

Nanaia
MAHUTA
Education Spokesperson                        

27 May  2012                                                                MEDIA STATEMENT
National’s education plans get ‘not achieved’

New Zealand families, who are working harder than ever, paying their taxes, and making the right choices for their kids expect the government to provide the best education possible, Labour Leader David Shearer says.

“Yet with schools across New Zealand being forced to cut teachers, many of them specialists in reading and other essential areas, those families are being short-changed.

“I have spoken to staff at several intermediate schools in my electorate. Changes to education, announced last week, mean they will lose teachers and face ballooning class sizes,” David Shearer said.

“Between three and four teachers will lose their jobs at Avondale Intermediate and Balmoral. At Manurewa Intermediate – which expects to have to increase class sizes to more than 36 students per lesson if they want to continue technology courses – five teachers will go.

“In their eyes, the fact that class sizes will be bigger and specialist teachers will be out of work reveals a government reneging on its side of the deal. These are science teachers, technology teachers - the very subjects that often inspire kids to learn,” David Shearer said.

“They are all critical subjects for a new generation New Zealand - subjects which direct students into our trades and industrial sectors, the very places we are facing such devastating skills shortfalls,” David Shearer said.

Labour’s Education spokesperson Nanaia Mahuta said the Minister, by her own admission, had been led by the nose by Treasury to make savings. The trade-offs she’s opted for are larger class sizes and capping teacher numbers at current levels until 2016
 
“Larger class sizes translate in real terms as a bad start for our youngest learners, a net loss of teachers in low decile schools, more pressure on teachers, less innovation in classroom learning and greater pressure on parents to fundraise in these hard economic times.
 
“The National Government says it wants an innovative and productive economy on the one hand, but takes away the ability to provide technology teachers in those core subjects on the other hand,” Nanaia Mahuta said.
 
“National’s claims that savings from bigger classes will be reinvested into quality teaching are way off the mark,” said David Shearer.