Charter school supporters are expected to join ACT leader David Seymour in a protest outside Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's electorate office in Auckland on Sunday afternoon.
The Government is planning to repeal legislation put in by the National-ACT coalition, and either convert existing charter schools to state-integrated or special character schools, or shut them down.
Charter schools can be profit-driven, set their own curriculum and don't have to use registered teachers. Education Minister Chris Hipkins says they direct funding towards "management fees and other dubious spending", and cost more taxpayer money to run than normal state schools.
Mr Seymour, whose party ACT was behind the legislation that allowed charter schools to come into existence, says Ms Ardern needs to show her face at the protest.
"Give these school and these kids a chance. They've found a system that's working - why force them back into the system they left, simply for ideological reasons?"
Mr Seymour says the Prime Minister will find it hard to ignore a petition signed by 3000 people.
"Jacinda Ardern has said she'll put children at the heart of everything the Government does. I'm challenging her to come and meet these kids whose schools are being taken away in a very violent fashion by her Government with no consultation whatsoever."
There are presently 11 charter schools. Ms Ardern told The AM Show in February the charter school model was "broken".
"I don't believe we should be making money out of kids' education, when that money could be going into kids. There are some that probably don't run a for-profit model, and for them the transition probably won't be a problem."
- Scrapping charter schools a 'massacre of opportunity' - David Seymour
- Teachers urge Labour to follow through with charter schools pledge
Mr Seymour says the protest will go ahead regardless of the changeable weather Auckland's experiencing at the moment.
Newshub.
