Hipkins and Tinetti’s very funny day.

The whole country is aware that State school education in NZ is poor overall shape. Significant absenteeism, let alone achievement. Term 1 was challenging with strikes (because the Ministry and unions have failed to reach agreement from May of last year). Add in storms, cyclones and teacher only days and students and families, at some level, must be wondering why they bother.

Apparently Year 4 – 8 classes have a funded ratio of 29 students. This is not a strict rule and schools can use the operation funds to reduce that. It would also be interesting to know just how often every student is present in a class so far into 2023.

So … Labour decide to make an announcement. They tell journalists it will be at Remuera Intermediate – which must have struggled to get a quorum in the holidays. And not just the Minister of Education is going to be there but the PM himself. This must be huge.

The announcement … that from 2025 they will reduce class sizes for Years 4 – 8 from 29 to 28. But wait – there is more and extra 320 teachers across 2000 Primary and Intermediate schools and … a new Ministerial Advisory Group (5.5 years into their term) to investigate class size in our schools and make recommendations.

Some high profile Principals, normally supportive of Labour have shown it for what it is:
“I just think it’s ludicrous,” Finlayson Park School principal Shirley Maihi told Checkpoint. “I think it’s a slap in the face. And it certainly won’t entice people to come into the teaching profession.”

Can teachers choose which child they don’t want to have in their class?

Watching it I thought it was the funniest political announcement I have ever seen and this scene would have been mimicked across newsrooms and the members of the other parties.