March 26, 2018 2:00pm by David Farrar

Sounds like a junket to me

The Herald reports:

An Auckland school paid nearly $20,000 to send 12 teachers to the Cook Islands for two weeks.

The Auditor-General is probing the spending by Blockhouse Bay Intermediate, which saw teachers visit the archipelago – including the tourist hotspot of Aitutaki – during the July school holidays last year.

The school is defending the spending, saying it was “very much a working trip and not a holiday”.

Yeah, I’m sure it was. You need 12 teachers there for 14 days and it is just coincidence that they have the sun, the pools and the beaches.

Its purpose was to immerse staff in Cook Islands culture and teaching practices to ensure Blockhouse Bay Intermediate’s teaching practices benefited Pasifika pupils’ learning, principal Michael Malins said.

You could send one or two teachers if that really was the purpose, and they could share their findings.

Also each Pasifika country is different. Going to the Cooks won’t help you with Tongan pupils. Just like going to China won’t help you with Indian pupils.

According to an Education Review Office’s 2016 report, pupils of Cook Island ethnicity made up about 1 per cent of the Blockhouse Bay Intermediate’s roll. Other Pasifika peoples made up 6 per cent.

So 20% of the school’s teachers went to a country where 1% of their pupils are from. Again this screams junket.