Download The Salvation Army's Submission to the Education (Update) Amendment Bill (DOC, 73KB)
The Army offers early childhood education services at four locations and vocational educational services at 18 locations across New Zealand. Our interest in education however goes beyond this relatively limited involvement in education provision. We have an on-going interest and concern for the interests of children and their right to be protected, cared for and educated and this interest has motivated this submission.
The Salvation Army generally supports the Education Amendment Bill and in particular its focus on greater direction to our early childhood and compulsory education systems. The Army notes however, that much of the Bill specifies new or extended duties and responsibilities of students, teachers and schools to the state but provides few guarantees or expectations of what we can expect from our publicly funded education system.
This is in our view is the major shortcoming both in the present legislation and the Bill.