Making the Grade: How can we fix New Zealand's education problems?

Absenteeism and declining literacy and numeracy rates have left parents deeply concerned about the education standards in Aotearoa.

This comes amid a major education strike, with teachers demanding better pay for the hard work they do in the classroom every day.

So what’s gone wrong with our education system? What steps can we take to improve it? And is there enough political will to drive that shift? 

New Zealand Initiative Senior Fellow Michael Johnston has co-authored a paper on this exact topic. As part of the NZ Herald’s Making the Grade series, he talks to Damien on The Front Page to explain what it will take to lift our education standards back to respectable heights.

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You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producers: Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

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