School principals back criticism of ministry

The Principals' Federation says the Ministry of Education has been under-serving the sector for some time. File photo / Thinkstock

School principals are backing a review report which identified serious problems within the Ministry of Education.

Leadership, Maori education and the ministry's ability to deliver on a range of goals were questioned in the report, which also said it needed to be more active in advising parts of the sector that had been "relatively ignored".

The Principals' Federation said today the ministry had been under-serving the sector for some time.

"We agree that ministry practices need substantial changes," said federation president Peter Simpson.

"Whilst once we enjoyed a healthy working relationship with ministry staff and officials, the foundation of those good relationships has been eroded and members of the profession have reported feeling bullied and disrespected."

Mr Simpson said the introduction of national standards -- strongly opposed by teacher unions -- had damaged the relationship.

"The ministry did a fantastic job working alongside the profession in developing and trialing New Zealand's world class curriculum and then along came National Standards which completely undermines it," he said.

The review was part of performance improvement work by the State Services Commission, Treasury and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

The report said Maori under-achievement had been a continuing problem and a strategy was in place.

"If the ministry were to adopt the same attention, drive and focus on Ka Hikitia (Maori education strategy) as it did on National Standards, there would be a stepchange in process," it said.

The report said strategic leadership in the sector needed improvement.

"Our judgment is that the ministry as a whole does not have a coherent view about the future directions and options for education overall that has been clearly articulated and well socialised within the ministry so that staff in diverse areas can see beyond their own sectoral roles," it said.

Leadership was strongest in schooling and early childhood and "quite weak" in the tertiary area, although responsibility for that had only recently been restored to the ministry.

"Ministers have made clear they expect the ministry to provide leadership to the entire system and have clarified the primary responsibility of the ministry in relation to strategic advice on the tertiary education sector," it said.

The ministry said it was working on the areas of concern.

"(The report) complements the work the ministry already has under way to both improve the performance of the education system, and to improve the performance of the ministry," it said.

"The ministry found the overall commentary in the report a thoughtful and helpful input to this."

- NZPA