Labour says it will establish an independent body to oversee New Zealand's curriculum and assessment system, if elected.
The policy, announced this afternoon, would introduce an "Independent Council for Curriculum and Assessment", or ICCA.
Labour education spokesperson Ginny Andersen said the council would "provide expert leadership of New Zealand’s curriculum and assessment system".
If elected, Labour would establish an interim expert group within three months to provide immediate advice on curriculum and assessment.
Labour would pause the rollout of curriculum changes made by the current Government for a year that hadn't been implemented.
Work on maths and English that was already underway would continue, with support provided to schools.
The current NCEA system, which the Government was working to replace, would remain in place and "unchanged" until 2029, so the ICCA's advice could be considered and any future changes could be properly planned and phased in.
Existing baseline education funding would be reprioritised under Labour's policy to establish and operate the ICCA itself, costing $500,000 a year.
Andersen said "curriculum and assessment decisions should be guided by evidence, educational expertise and what will improve learning", regardless of which party held power.
“Governments will continue to set the broad goals and expectations for our education system. That democratic accountability will remain.
"But detailed curriculum and assessment design should be led by expert educators and assessment specialists, not rewritten according to the preferences of individual ministers.”
She said the policy was not about creating more bureaucracy.
"It is about building a coherent curriculum, avoiding rushed changes and improving educational outcomes for students.
“We will keep what is working, carefully assess changes that are underway and make future decisions based on evidence and expert advice.
“Good curriculum reform takes time. It requires professional expertise, proper implementation and the confidence of the parents, teachers and schools who rely on it."
On its website, the National Party said it planned to improve New Zealand's education system by ensuring schools taught an hour of reading, writing, and maths per day; banning cell phones in classrooms, providing more resources, and replacing NCEA, with clear A+ to E grades and an exam in every subject.
In May, Education Minister Erica Stanford announced NCEA would be replaced by the New Zealand Certificate of Education (NZCE) at Year 12 and the New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education (NZACE) at Year 13.
Under the new system, students would study at least five subjects in Years 12 and 13 and must pass at least three subjects to earn each qualification, alongside a compulsory literacy and numeracy Foundational Award benchmarked at Year 11.
Since being elected, the Government has been working to completely overhaul New Zealand's curriculum.
On Tuesday, the Government released the final two learning areas for the new curriculum for years 0 to 10.
“This curriculum provides a clear and nationally consistent pathway for learning, helping students develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to succeed at school and beyond,” Stanford said.
Schools were given until the start of 2029 to fully implement the new framework.
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