John
Gerritsen Education correspondent
The
Labour Party says it will freeze the government’s
school curriculum overhaul and NCEA changes if elected
to power but has not committed to ditching them
altogether.
The party’s education spokesperson Ginny
Andersen announced this afternoon it would also create an
independent body, the Independent Council for Curriculum and
Assessment (ICCA), to lead decisions on what was taught in
schools and how it is assessed.
She said the updated
English and maths curriculums would continue, but all others
would be paused for a year while experts figured out what
should go ahead.
It said the NCEA, due to be phased
out from 2028 to 2030, would stay until 2029 while the new
curriculum and assessment body considered it.
“Whether
governments are left or right, curriculum and assessment
decisions should be guided by evidence, educational
expertise and what will improve learning,” she
said.
“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.”
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Last month, the Principals Federation called
for the creation of an independent curriculum and assessment
council.
Teacher union the Educational Institute
said educators would welcome Labour’s support for an
independent body because it would stop curriculum
instability becoming the norm.
“The rushed and
sweeping curriculum changes since the coalition government
assumed office in 2023 have created significant turbulence
for teachers, school leaders, ākonga, and their whānau,”
the union’s president Ripeka Lessels said.
“Unless we
have a cross-party framework for curriculum reform and we
repeal the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment
Act, the curriculum can be overhauled at any time and at the
whim of whichever political party is in
power.”
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