It was recently NCEA time and the media have failed to highlight a recent article that 40 per cent of NCEA graduates failed a literacy test and 42 per cent were functionally innumerate. These students may be good at other subjects but they don't know the basics of life.
On the other hand, Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson recently committed the party to teaching Maori language in all primary schools by 2025.
The Greens fail to realise that schools have other priorities like having sufficient teachers, paying them adequately, special needs assistants, supporting teachers in disciplinary matters, plus that Maori language has been available in secondary schools for many decades.
Those are additional priorities to simply concentrating on English literacy and numeracy as No1.
Fair enough to promote Maori language in a social sense but it is not needed for most vocations and thus it will never put food on the table.
