National Party leader Simon Bridges with National's education spokeswoman Nikki Kaye. Photo / Audrey Young
National Party leader Simon Bridges with National's education spokeswoman Nikki Kaye. Photo / Audrey Young
COMMENT:
It looked like nothing more than the hollow platitudes so common in politics when National launched its education discussion document today with phrases like "the party of ideas" and "the biggest policy development process by an Opposition ever".
But dig deeper and the 52-page document has plentyto chew over.
National would be expected to come up with something juicy with the financial freedom - $300m to $500m a year - that would flow from axing the Government's fees-free scheme.
And Education Saver certainly is that - an account for every Kiwi from the start of primary school that would see an annual Crown contribution, with possible contributions from parents or businesses.
A similar scheme runs in Singapore which sees the Government put $200 to $300 into an account for every primary and secondary school student each year - with extra cash bonuses for the best performing students.
National wants the money to be used for tertiary education or professional development, or it could be lumped into KiwiSaver if it remained untouched.
The Government could also use the interest from the big EduSaver pot to level the playing field by subsidising, for example, tertiary fees for Māori or Pasifika, or topping up accounts for parents who can't afford contributions.
All this assumes that the pot would be hefty enough to be useful - a very hopeful assumption at this stage.
National's education spokeswoman Nikki Kaye. Photo / Nick Reed
There is plenty more in the document that was expected - smaller class sizes, enabling the learning of a second language - but another big idea flew under the radar.
The document proposes teaching self-regulation to children, helping them to learn to deal with emotional issues and improve self-control and resilience. This could look like lessons in how to persist with hard tasks, delay reward, or manage difficult emotions.
Research shows that a lack of self-control can lead to poor life outcomes such as drug or alcohol addiction, crime, or cycles of abuse. Diverting someone from the criminal justice system ultimately saves money and improves lives.
National is short on the finer details of how EduSaver or self-regulation would work, but the luxury of a discussion document is that you don't have to have all the answers.
Nor will National pick up all the proposals in the document, as party leader Simon Bridges said today.
Another advantage is that you can ignore your track record.
The Government would measure National's wishlist - including more teachers, who are much more valued - against National's last term, when it says National failed to address teacher and classroom shortages, and teacher pay rates.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins. Photo / George Novak
But today Education Minister Chris Hipkins seemed to lack the erudite comments that usually come so easily to him.
He firstly described National's document as "full of platitudes and generalities and nothing particularly specific", before saying that those non-specific things would cost billions of dollars.
The best he could muster about EduSaver was that it was "not a new idea".
It's true that National's document lacks detailed costings, but that is another luxury of a discussion document.
The document is only meant to signal the party's direction and stir the pot in a way that generates debate, and on that measure it is a resounding success.
What policies National eventually settles on and how it intends to roll those out will be a much tougher test.
