The future of our communities – and our economy – relies on the education, skills, and success of our young people. That’s why National is working hard to ensure that all children get the skills and opportunities they need to succeed.

Improving educational outcomes is one of our top priorities.

With this in mind, the National-led Government is pumping more money into education than ever before, despite the tough economic environment. Budget 2010 provides an extra $1.4 billion for better schooling and early childhood education over the next four years. We want all young people to enjoy the best possible start to life.

We’re buying school sites, opening new schools, and fixing leaky classrooms, with hundreds of millions of new operating and capital funding. This will ensure teaching and learning environments are focused on the needs of students.

We are investing $48.3 million to build ultra-fast broadband support for schools, to bring learning into the 21st century. The focus is on upgrading schools’ networks in preparation for the use of ultra-fast broadband in their teaching and learning programmes. Broadband is vital to ensure that students receive an education that equips them for an innovative and dynamic economy.

Our Youth Guarantee scheme helps 16- and 17-year-olds who are ready to move beyond school, but who still want to study and learn practical skills. It provides free study towards school-level qualifications at polytechnics, wänanga, and private training establishments.

We are spending an extra $48 million over four years to increase Youth Guarantee places from 2000 to 2500 a year from 2011. Students are selected from areas of highest need, based on youth unemployment rates and access to suitable training programmes.

National is committed to ensuring that our children receive high-quality early childhood education (ECE). We’re increasing spending on ECE by $107 million to a total of $1.3 billion in 2010/11. ECE spending has almost trebled since 2004/05, while the percentage of children participating rose by less than 1 per cent in the same period.

Too many children are missing out, so we’re putting more than $90 million into projects that increase participation for those who benefit most from ECE, but who are least likely to take part. This includes families from Maori, Pacific, and lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Young people are our future. Their efforts will lift our prosperity and drive tomorrow’s economy. National is working to ensure that every single young New Zealander has the opportunity to reach their potential.

This entry was posted by admin on Monday, July 5. 2010 at 10:17. and is filed under News.