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Tuesday, September 08, 2009

National gutting community education while paying millions to rich private schools


Fears rise over impact of night-class cuts
The wider ramifications of cutting funding to night classes cannot be determined by quick number crunching, top sociologist Joce Jesson says. And Aucklander Bernadette Papa, whose life was turned around by the classes, is devastated that others will not be able to benefit as she has. Dr Jesson, a senior lecturer in social policy at the University of Auckland, has written a paper which claims the original goals of adult and community education cannot be met if education becomes corporatised and highly dependent on grant funding. The real reason for community learning is to build social capital as it forms relationships around communities, she says. "It's about getting people hooked on learning." Dr Jesson is deeply concerned about the knee-jerk reaction of the National Government that announced cuts of $13 million or 80 per cent of funding for night classes. She is worried that by turning all its focus to literacy and numeracy, the Government has turned the purpose of education into obtaining a qualification. "They have forgotten that a really important part of education is citizenship or civic duty. It's what we are lacking already," Dr Jesson said.

It is disgusting that National are gutting 80% of community education while pumping (against Treasury advice) $35 million into the private school industry. Look we all know the last time hard right economic policy was implemented as social policy our suicide rates tripled, without the necessary padding within our communities, the alienation unemployment and a recession can cause will reap a terrible toll and gutting community education in the manner National have will only exacerbate that grim harvest.

9 Comments:

At 8/9/09 10:45 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My Dad won't be able to do his course any longer, it makes me so mad!

 
At 8/9/09 5:40 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The last thing that National wants is proper education for the masses.

 
At 8/9/09 5:47 pm, Anonymous Vinny Eastwood said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_J_WulYCbE

What a bunch of corporate cock suckers National are, they're going to make this country in to soviet Russia
That's all I got to say about that!

 
At 8/9/09 7:15 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"the alienation unemployment "

If its so fucking alienating why do I have friends who have been on the dole for 5 years and have no urge to find work.

In lieu of community education we could have the students out there planting trees thereby helping to solve climate change and make new friends while learning new skills.

A lot more productive than the taxpayer forking out for them to learn ancient biblical hebrew.

 
At 8/9/09 8:27 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What your forgetting of course as it follows that on average the parents of private school kids contribute far more tax than other sectors of the community and get less in return which is hardly equitable, why should those kids not get back the same back for there education as every other kid in the country - whereas the total reverse is true for these hobby courses where as a large proportion of the recipients of the service are negative tax contributors - including the stunning example of a woman who lived off her boyfriends high paid job as a bank robber till he was caught. Fairs fair after all.

 
At 9/9/09 8:23 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

If its so fucking alienating why do I have friends who have been on the dole for 5 years and have no urge to find work.

go get some new friends...

 
At 9/9/09 8:25 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

on average the parents of private school kids contribute far more tax than other sectors of the community and get less in return which is hardly equitable

that is plain bullshit, the rich in this country pay far less tax than the ordinary working person.

 
At 9/9/09 2:06 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

that is plain bullshit, the rich in this country pay far less tax than the ordinary working person.

Stated with such authority, lacking any kind grounding in reality. Just who are these "rich" people that you speak of who pay no tax?

 
At 9/9/09 7:25 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"If its so fucking alienating why do I have friends who have been on the dole for 5 years and have no urge to find work.

go get some new friends..."

Nah, I like to nurture my superority complex which is why post here.

 

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