Walford, Parata talk education

Education Minister Hekia Parata displays her own excitement about a vision for education which provides choices, during her visit yesterday to Tamatea High School in Napier. Photo / Paul Taylor

Minister of Education Hekia Parata found herself talking about matters close to her own heart as she rounded off an unusual day on the campaign trail in Napier yesterday, talking to people who, in many cases, will not be voting for a few years yet.

Having included Napier Boys' High School and the EIT on the itinerary, she also visited Taradale Kindergarten and, finally, multi-lingual pioneering Tamatea High School, where she and National Party Napier candidate Wayne Walford's audience included students of the school, neighbouring Tamatea Intermediate, and Porritt, a primary school, with implications they are all leaders of the future.

Once aspiring to follow in the footsteps of her parents and become a school teacher, the 56-year-old veteran of six years in Parliament faced questions about her own schooling in Ruatoria and Gisborne, and what drove her to become an MP and to succeed once elected.

She took Maori as one of five subjects at Ruatoria, but saw the world open with many more options at Gisborne Girls' High School, the key to what she says is now her big vision for education, with multi-lingualism broadening the options for empowering students as they leave the classroom for the big, wide world.

"I am so passionate about education because I had a great one," she said. "It is a passport to choices."

"I absolutely believe in bi-linguality and multi-linguality."

She said she made it clear in entering Parliament the job of Minister of Education was the one she wanted.

Tamatea High School had shown vision in becoming in 2010 the first school to teach Mandarin, recognising the changing shape of New Zealand relationships and global futures of young people. For the present, Mandarin stands alongside English, te reo Maori and Japanese at the school, and Mrs Parata said that with last week's announcement of $10million for Asian language tutoring, and recent authority for a similar amount for sign language, Tamatea, as a high school which has shown commitment to the concept, has the opportunity to apply for more resources.

"Part of it is being prepared to learn it," she said, drawing comparisons with Government being against compulsory study of Maori.

Compulsion limits motivation, she says.

Asked for a "magic wand" vision of education, Mr Walford said: "For me, it's the support from outside school."