Todd McClay: Education spend has to be done wisely

Education is something that's raised with me as a local MP more than almost any other issue. We all want what's best for our kids and over the past few years many teachers and parents have shared their views on what must be done to make Rotorua education the best in the country.

Educating children is an investment in their future. A high quality education provides opportunity for any child from any background to get ahead and make the most of their lives. It's also an essential requirement for a skilled, creative and productive workforce, which is key to growing a stronger economy. So it makes sense that we should invest heavily in education.

The Government has increased spending in education every year since 2009 with an extra $512 million committed last year alone to be spent over the next four years. Locally, $17.6 million has been invested to upgrade and modernise 59 schools in the Rotorua electorate.

These figures represent a significant amount of taxpayer money and we need to make sure it's money well spent. People want to know that their taxes are being spent responsibly on services that make a real difference to our community, directly on the front line. This means ensuring support and resources for education are being targeted at the right areas.

I'm committed to increasing participation and raising achievement across the board. This requires a system-wide lift in quality teaching and leadership from Early Childhood Education (ECE), through to primary and secondary schooling. That's why two of Prime Minister John Key's 10 Better Public Service goals are aimed at these specific areas.

Regular participation in ECE enables children to go to primary school confident, able to engage, and eager to learn. Our goal is to make sure 98 per cent of children starting school have participated in ECE by 2016. To achieve this, we're investing $1.4 billion in ECE of which $47.9 million will be targeted towards children who are missing out, but would benefit the most. This target cuts to the core of many of the challenges we face in New Zealand.

The second goal is aimed at having 85 per cent of all 18-year-olds achieving NCEA Level 2 or equivalent by 2016. This is the minimum qualification any young person should leave school with.

Having this qualification up their sleeve will open up more employment opportunities and further study options.

To achieve these goals we need to enlist the support on the entire community. We want to open up the communication lines between schools, parents and the wider community and build an environment where everyone sees it as their responsibility to help educate our children.

In 2011 I campaigned on putting Rotorua first and part of this is improving educational achievement. Involving the wider community in decision-making processes regarding specific local education issues is extremely important - after all lifting student achievement benefits us all. Today this responsibility does not fall solely on teachers and education professionals - as a community we need to be more accountable for the future success of our young people.

In the coming weeks I will continue to meet with local schools to talk more about what must be done locally to raise educational achievement. Through working together as educators, teachers and parents we have an opportunity to make education in Rotorua the best in the country.