Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Teacher union presents national standards' petition

Updated at 3:43 pm on 22 June 2010

The primary teachers' union has presented a petition at Parliament calling for a trial of the national standards in reading, writing and maths.

The Government last year refused to trial the standards, and schools must implement them this year.

The New Zealand Education Institute (NZEI) says nearly 38,000 people signed the petition, presented on Tuesday.

The petition says the standards are untried and untested and are not the solution to children's under achievement.

NZEI president Frances Nelson says no school should be forced to introduce the standards until its community is happy the issues highlighted in the petition have been addressed.

She says there is confusion about the standards and an overwhelming lack of confidence.

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