Public consultation has begun on proposed changes to the Education Training Act 2020
The changes include:
- how school board elections are run
- ensuring all education employees are Police vetted before they begin work
- strengthening and clarifying Teaching Council of Aotearoa processes dealing with teacher conduct
- enabling the Educational Review Office to review professional learning and development services, and
- possible changes to the priority categories for out of zone enrolments in state schools. These changes do not alter the current priority two ranking for students out of zone, but with siblings at a zoned school, to be able to attend the same school as their sibling. If there are any other changes to other priority categories resulting from this consultation, these would not be introduced until 2022 at the earliest. This means that the current priority categories will continue to apply for students and schools for the time being.
“The proposed changes are designed to encourage greater and more diverse participation in the governing of our schools, to strengthen student voice in our schools, and to improve the safety and wellbeing of all learners. They also support continuous improvement in education services,” says Andrea Schöllmann, Deputy Secretary Education System Policy.
Other proposed changes would enable vocational education to respond better to the needs of industry and learners.
These include giving Government greater flexibility to make changes to the requirements on tertiary providers charging a Compulsory Student Service Fee (CSSF); using the National Student Number to support workplace-based learning, and giving the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) greater discretion around cancelling a Private Training Establishments (PTE) registration.
Public consultation closes Wednesday 16 June 2021. To find out more about the proposed changes go to the Kōrero Mātauranga website by clicking the link below.
Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 2)(external link)
In addition, the Education and Training Amendment Bill received Cabinet approval and will be introduced shortly.
The Bill’s content includes expanding the timeframe that prohibits tertiary providers from charging trainees a compulsory student services fee, and ensuring that former teachers can only use physical restraint if they are approved by the school that employs them, along with other technical changes to the Education and Training Act 2020.
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