The New Zealand Principals’ Federation has used a leaked Ministry of Education video to renew its call for an independent curriculum council.
NZPF, the professional body for school principals, put out a statement on 23 September from its President, Jason Miles. It responds to footage from inside the Ministry’s curriculum work, first shared by the NZ Herald on 22 September.
According to 1News (25 Sep), the video shows a senior official telling staff not to put information shared with Education Minister Erica Stanford’s office in writing, because it could be released under the Official Information Act (OIA).
“Of greatest concern, it reveals official direction to protect the Minister and avoid public scrutiny by illegally circumventing the Official Information Act,” Jason said in the statement.
What the Minister and the Ministry have said
The Minister rejected any link to her office in Parliament on 22 September. “I want to be very clear and put on the record in Hansard that not myself or anybody else in my office has ever directed or even suggested that anyone should not comply with the OIA,” she told the House, as reported by 1News. She also called the officials’ comments “very disappointing”.
Chief Ombudsman John Allen met Secretary for Education Ellen MacGregor-Reid and Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche on 25 September. The Ombudsman’s office handles complaints about official information requests.
“It would not be appropriate to talk about the details of our discussion other than to say I have advised Ms MacGregor-Reid that I will be conducting a formal investigation into the allegations,” John said. “I aim to complete my investigation as soon as possible but speed will not be at the expense of thoroughness.”
Ellen had commissioned an internal review earlier that week. She told 1News its status “will be considered once I’ve received the terms of reference” for the Ombudsman’s investigation.
The Tribunal report NZPF points to
Jason tied the video to a Waitangi Tribunal report released a week earlier. “I am frankly not surprised by what has been exposed,” he said.
The Tribunal released its report on the Crown’s curriculum reform in pre-publication form on 16 September. It covers both the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, the curriculum for Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori settings.
The Tribunal found the Crown breached several Treaty principles in developing a “knowledge-rich curriculum” informed by the “science of learning”. Its findings include a lack of meaningful engagement with Māori, and moving ahead without evidence the approach would reduce Māori inequities. On good government, it pointed to officials’ “reinforcement of the Minister’s predetermined position”.
The Tribunal recommended the Crown recommit to working in partnership with Māori in education and return to designing a Māori-medium curriculum with Māori.
The Minister said she’d consider the findings, RNZ reported on 17 September. She said the Government had consulted about 100 Māori academics and experts, and that she planned to release curriculum areas by the end of the year.
“The leaked footage shows us one example of what that looks like – I am sure there will be plenty more to come,” Jason said of the Tribunal’s findings.
The council NZPF wants
NZPF’s answer is a permanent, statutory Curriculum and Assessment Council. Jason said it “would give Aotearoa New Zealand’s education system the stability it needs, regardless of who is in government.”
The federation says Labour’s education spokesperson Ginny Andersen confirmed her party’s support the week before. NZPF counts the Greens, New Zealand First and The Opportunity Party as earlier backers. Its 10 September release described their support as being for the council “or approaches that align with key elements” of it.
According to Jason, the Minister has argued that NZPF wants to put ideology back into the curriculum. “That is exactly what our proposed Curriculum and Assessment Council is trying to prevent,” he said.
NZPF is building a public register where principals, educators and parents can add their names in support. The statement closed with a message to the Minister. “The New Zealand Principals’ Federation is not a union nor are we little,” Jason said. “We are the leading professional voice for principals and represent almost 2,000 members.”
The Ombudsman hasn’t given a date for his findings. The Tribunal’s next report, on the removal of school boards’ Treaty obligations from the Education and Training Act, is still to come. New Zealand votes on 7 November.
