How Labour plans to spend the $4b it’s earmarked for education

Labour has laid out in detail its $4 billion education plan for the next four years including a plan to rebuild all out-of date and worn school buildings and turn them into modern classrooms by 2030.

The party revealed its fiscal plan on Wednesday, which shows it’s planning to invest $8 billion more in health, $5 billion more for families and $4 billion more for education than the government was planning to spend in Budget 2017 over the next four years.

Today, the party’s education spokesman Chris Hipkins outlined Labour’s education manifesto, detailing the areas Labour would be spending the $4 billion it plans to invest in education.

“It’s organised around five main priorities; learners at the centre, barrier-free access, quality teaching, public education and future-focused education,” he says.

Almost half of the funding will go toward “delivering a modern educations system,” which includes increasing the number of teachers and helping with their professional development, as well as adding more learning resources.

It plans to attract teachers through increasing the availability of “bonded scholarships” in areas where there are teaching shortages, such as science, maths and Te Reo Maori. Teachers bonds were widely used in New Zealand in the 1960s and 1970s.

Labour is promising to establish a plan to ensure all school students have access to mobile devices, which it has earmarked almost $107 million over four years for.

Mr Hipkins slammed National’s underinvestment in schools over the past nine years.

“[Labour will] immediately take steps to establish and implement a plan to rebuild outdated and worn out buildings that National has neglected and aim to ensure that every school has modern classrooms by 2030.”

The party’s previously announced plan to introduce three years of free post-school education is the second highest big ticket initiatives which will cost $942 million over four years.

Labour says it would also reinstate funding for programmes such as night classes that support adult learners to “adapt to the changing world.”

“We’ll also establish a comprehensive plan to ensure all school students have access to mobile digital devices, with a four-year investment of $107 million,” Mr Hipkins says.

The party’s policy to abolish voluntary school donations by offering $150 extra per student to schools that don’t ask for donations – revealed this morning – will cost $280 million over four years and the plan to reinstate the higher funding rate for early childhood education services with 100% qualified teachers comes with a $279 price tag over four years.

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