Concern in rural NZ about proposed changes to Education Act

<h4 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Rural Women New Zealand &lpar;RWNZ&rpar; has issued a submission to the government expressing concerns about the impact of the Education &lpar;Update&rpar; Amendment Bill for rural schools&period;<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">The Bill proposes some significant changes to the Act&comma; including allowing for the accreditation of private online charter schools&period; Under this proposal&comma; children as young as five years old will have the ability to elect to receive some or all of their education online&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&&num;8220&semi;The risk of online charter schools diverting both students and much needed government funding away from rural schools is something we are concerned about&comma;” says national president&comma; Wendy McGowan&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Rural schools perform a vital role in their communities&comma; yet many are struggling to cope with the unique challenges of providing education in isolated areas&period; The government’s first priority should be in further supporting these schools&comma; rather than seeking out alternative providers&comma; which could challenge their viability&period;” <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&lbrack;pro&lowbar;ad&lowbar;display&lowbar;adzone id&equals;&&num;8221&semi;4703&&num;8243&semi; align&equals;&&num;8221&semi;left&&num;8221&semi;&rsqb;&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">RWNZ says that it doesn’t think that online schools are an acceptable substitute to traditional schools&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;In general&comma; we think most children benefit from being able to learn within a traditional school setting where they have the opportunity to socialise and interact with their peers&period; This is particularly true in rural communities where isolation is a major concern&comma;” says Ms McGowan&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&&num;8220&semi;A further limiting factor of online schools is their reliance on a decent level of internet connectivity&comma; something that is lacking in many remote parts of the country&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">RWNZ’s submission also outlines concerns that taking children out of the school environment could increase their vulnerability to abuse&comma; neglect in the home and missing out on important primary health interventions such as immunisations&period; Research from the United States showing that the academic performance of students at online charter schools is lagging behind those in traditional schools is also referenced&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;