Principals 'fail' education minister

Anne Tolley. Photo / Supplied

The New Zealand Principals Federation yesterday passed a vote of no confidence in the Education Minister and her national standards policy.

At their annual conference in Wellington, 750 principals passed the motion that they had "no confidence in the education policy and direction of the current Government, in relation to national standards, as led by the minister".

A source close to minister Anne Tolley's office said the union was sounding like a "stuck record" after passing a similar motion last year.

And Tolley said: "The federation is now just a single-issue political lobby group, which has never brought anything positive to the table.

"The majority of schools are getting on with implementing national standards and raising student achievement."

National standards are benchmarks in reading, writing and maths used to assess children in years one to eight.

Federation president Peter Simpson said members had known from the outset they were "fundamentally flawed" and would narrow children's learning.

New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association president Robin Duff said the strong words were "probably born from a feeling of considerable frustration".

He said there would always be differences on contentious issues in the education sector, but it was important to maintain open communication.