KEY POINTS:
A long-running parliamentary inquiry into the school system says teachers should get full registration only if they raise the achievement of their students.
The education select committee today released its unanimous findings after its inquiry on making the school system work for every child.
MPs said New Zealand had one of the finest school systems in the world, with many high achieving students.
"However, a disproportionately large number of students leave school with little or nothing to show from compulsory schooling, with underachievement among Maori and Pasifika students a particular concern," their report said.
The cross party committee said its members had agreed on a range of recommendations it believed would increase achievement rates in schools significantly.
Among them was "teachers should be awarded full registration after two years' employment only if they have demonstrated that they are able to raise consistently the achievement of their students".
Other recommendations included:
* Students for whom mainstream schooling is not working should be transferred into alternatives without first being subjected to serious disciplinary measures;
* The system should support worthwhile programmes outside the mainstream for Maori;
* Health and support services should be on site at all schools or integrated with local community services; and
* Assessment for barriers to learning such hearing loss should be done in early childhood education.
- NZPA
