ACT wants 10,000 charter school students by 2029. Labour would move the schools into the state system
ACT has set a target of 10,000 charter school enrolments by 2029 and wants a charter school option in every major town, RNZ reported. ACT leader David Seymour announced the plan in Henderson, West Auckland. He said ACT would push for more suitable state and state-integrated schools to convert to charter schools. It would also encourage new charter schools where there's enough demand and a sponsor willing to run one.
Labour has again promised to abolish the model. Seymour challenged Labour leader Chris Hipkins to visit a charter school and tell the students himself why he wants to "take away" their education, RNZ reported.
The starting number depends on who you ask. Newstalk ZB put the current 20 charter schools at about 2,000 students. Newsroom reports 21 confirmed charter schools plus one converted state school, and 1,732 students as of July. ACT's target is five times Newstalk ZB's figure, or nearly six times Newsroom's.
Seymour told Hosking that each application round draws 60 or 70 applicants who have prepared submissions and have their community on board. "This is an idea whose time has come," he said.
He also told RNZ that early results were encouraging. In his account, most charter schools are meeting their attendance and achievement targets, and every charter school teaching Years 3 to 10 has met its maths achievement threshold. The figures are Seymour's own, and none of the sources checks them independently.
"There is no one type of charter school for one type of student, and that is the point," Seymour said. He listed schools for high-performance athletes and for students with autism, one built around Pacific culture, one teaching the International Baccalaureate in French, an online school and one belonging to an Australian chain.
