Tolley won't dismiss dissenting boards

Education Minister Anne Tolley says she does not intend to dismiss school boards which fail to implement the new education standards.

More than 225 school boards opposed the new national standards and have said they would defer setting student achievement targets based on the new benchmarks.

The standards are being introduced as a way to find out how students are progressing in reading, writing and maths, with reports sent to parents.

Teacher unions oppose the standards and say the benchmarks don't properly reflect student achievement.

The Government has said boards that don't use the standards would be breaking the law.

In Parliament today, Mrs Tolley was asked if she would dismiss boards that did not implement the standards fully.

"That has never been my intention," she replied.

The Government had processes in place to work with schools having difficulty implementing the standards, she said.

- NZPA