The national body for home schoolers is calling last minute changes to an education bill "wrong and undemocratic".
By James Fleury & Reuben Smith
On Monday, Education Minister Erica Stanford announced proposed amendments to the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill, which had already passed its second reading.
The National Council of Home Educators New Zealand (NCHENZ) released a statement shortly after, saying it was disappointed with the lack of consultation.
NCHENZ government liaison Cynthia Hancox told 1News the changes left the door open for the Ministry of Education to make sudden changes in future.
“They could bring absolutely anything in, there’s no limitation on what they could impose on us as it’s written and, most especially, that it’s done with the threat of comply or lose your exemption,” Hancox said. “They could suddenly decide that we need to follow the New Zealand curriculum,” she added.
Many parents that choose to home school their children use different curriculums and daily learning depending on their individual needs.
'Acting as quickly as we could' – Minister
Education Minister Erica Stanford told 1News most home schoolers did a great job but the last-minute changes were made to protect children’s welfare.
She said she had to work at pace to get the changes added after a heads-up from the Education Review Office and Ministry of Education that several home schooled children could be experiencing harm.
“Given the huge number of children that are now being home schooled, it was really important for us to act as quickly as we could just to get some enabling legislation in place.”
The number of children home schooled in New Zealand has almost doubled since 2014 to around 10,000, but the Education Review Office reviews less than 1% of them.
“The thing that sparked this urgent work on our part to protect children was the Gloriavale cases and the fact that ERO wrote to me with serious concerns about the broader system,” Stanford said.
'Knocking people down' – home schooling mum
A petition set up two days ago has already been signed by more than 7000 people rejecting the changes.
Wellington mum Amy Taylor who turned to home schooling her 12-year-old daughter after traditional schooling didn’t work, said conventional reporting and testing wouldn’t work for their situation.
“The potential for mandating more reporting and exams and assessments for rangatahi that are disabled, just seems like knocking people down,” Taylor said.
Stanford said the Government would work with the homeschooling community before the regulations come into force.
“We will fully consult with them on what the regulations are over the next year, they’re notdue to come into force until July next year so plenty of time for that consultation,” Stanford said.
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