Summarised by Centrist
Education Minister Erica Stanford has criticised associate minister David Seymour for “overstepping the mark” when he announced a crackdown on teacher-only days last year.
Speaking on TVNZ’s Q&A, Stanford suggested Seymour had not consulted her before making the announcement and reaffirmed that the decision ultimately rests with her.
Seymour, who leads ACT and serves as Associate Minister of Education, declared in September that teacher-only days would require ministerial approval, arguing that schools should not close “willy-nilly.”
He framed the move as part of broader efforts to boost attendance rates, stating, “If the teachers aren’t showing up, it’s pretty hard to motivate the students to show up.”
Stanford, however, defended the use of teacher-only days, particularly for implementing the government’s new curriculum.
She said these days are necessary to ensure teachers can properly “unpack” the year-by-year, knowledge-rich curriculum, which she described as internationally benchmarked. While acknowledging concerns from parents, she maintained that they are “trying to keep them to an absolute minimum.”
Editor’s Note: While Stanford has pushed back on Seymour’s teacher-only day crackdown, both ministers ultimately seem to agree on reducing them. Seymour wants stricter oversight, while Stanford insists they should be minimised but remain necessary for curriculum rollout. Is this a genuine disagreement within the coalition, or just a minor policy nuance amplified by the media?
