An Axis of Incompetence

Educrats and Teacher Unions

Teacher unions and the educrats have a lot to answer for.  They have systematically opposed every reform of note in the government run education system for the past twenty-five years.  The principles driving this reactionary bias are pretty obvious: firstly, teacher jobs and conditions must be preserved at all cost; secondly, if any proposed government policy would threaten teachers or the control of the unions over the sector, it will be vociferously opposed.

The tactics employed are crude, but effective.
  Firstly, loudly condemn any reform policy as undermining education and causing damage to children.  Secondly, disrupt schools through strike action if necessary so that the dire prophecy becomes reality.  Thirdly, misdirect blame from unions to the government at every opportunity.  Fourthly, run the cause relentlessly through the political arm of the unions (the NZ Labour Party). 


Using these tactics two very important structural reforms, which would have enabled the government education sector to improve rapidly and significantly, were successfully consigned to the dustbin. 

The first was the educational voucher system.  Pretty much wherever this has been deployed around the world, it has resulted in vastly improved educational outcomes--particular in poor, low decile area.  It is a simple, but powerful idea.  Every parent is given a voucher which they can redeem at any registered school of their choice.  Overnight, schools become far more parent and family focused; the educrats' power and influence is reduced commensurately.  School performance and educational outcomes rise.

The second major reform was bulk funding of schools.  This policy involved the Ministry of Education forking over government funding in bulk to school principals and boards, and allowing school management much more discretion as to when and how they spent the funds.  The educrats and the teacher unions vociferously opposed this as well and their political lapdog chimed in on queue.  It was opposed because it reduced the control of the unions over teachers wages and conditions, which weakened, in turn, the hold of the unions over their members.  The campaign was successful.  Another great reform consigned to the dustbin. 

One of the great ironies across the ditch has been the Australian Labour! Government's commitment to some genuine reforms of the government education system in Australia.  We have been told that bulk funding is IN--at last, in New South Wales.  Under the headline, "Principals' Freedom is a Winner With Schools" the Sydney Morning Herald highlights how bulk funding policies have been welcomed by schools in NSW.

THE push to give NSW public schools greater autonomy is gaining momentum, a trend which will be further advanced by near-unanimous support from 47 principals leading a two-year trial.  All principals told an independent review the freedoms allowed had led to concrete improvements at their schools. About 95 per cent said it had increased teacher capacity to deliver the curriculum and 83 per cent said they had been able to do more for their schools at a lower cost.

Some principals pointed to improved NAPLAN and HSC results as proof of success. The review found principals valued the flexibility to make decisions and to reallocate parts of their budgets to employ staff to suit their schools' needs. Principals believed creating the right staffing mix for their schools to be essential. ''It's always about staffing,'' one said. ''Get this right and nothing else matters.''

Under the pilot program principals could choose staff on merit without being subject to priority transfer arrangements administered by the education department. Being able to choose staff was seen as critical if school leaders are to be held accountable for student performance.  ''We are asking principals to achieve outcomes for students and be accountable for quality of teachers but we don't allow them to select staff so they don't control this,'' one said.

NSW, with more than 2200 schools, is among the most centrally controlled education systems in the Western world. Other Australian states have ceded significant power to the school level. Victorian principals are allowed to choose their own staff and in Western Australia schools can choose to operate independently with substantial freedoms.

The pilot program was established by the previous government and will continue under the new rules until the end of next year. The Education Minister, Adrian Piccoli, is leading a consultation program, ''Local Schools, Local Decisions'', also aiming to devolve power.  The minister hopes to announce new rules for greater school autonomy early next year, which would be implemented in 2013. Simultaneously, special federal government funding will be available next year for 162 schools under the Empowering Local Schools national partnership. . . . (Emphasis, ours)

NSW has been the most centrally controlled state in its education polices; now, it too is moving to more and more decentralisation, freedom, and local control.  New Zealand has been moving to a more and more centralised government-run, therefore educrat and union controlled, system.   Some peoples are so wedded to their failed ideology they can never learn.