Best On Day

Teachers strike extends to school prizegiving?

The Bay of Plenty Times reports

Secondary teachers are refusing to take an active part in end-of-year prizegivings as part of their pay dispute...The ongoing battle between secondary school teachers and the Ministry of Education has seen bans by the Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) on teachers attending meetings and events after 5pm.

Otumoetai College principal Dave Randell said this meant he took "total responsibility" at last night's Creative Arts Awards ceremony.

Well, according to the Ministry of Education

A ban on PPTA members attending meetings and events before 8.30am or after 5pm.... includes a refusal to attend events like parent/teacher meetings and departmental meetings, but will not include formal prize giving ceremonies.

Just putting aside that creative arts awards are not end of year prizgivings, but are formal prizegiving ceremonies, the Ministry's website implies all prize giving ceremonies, including creative arts awards, are able to be attended by teachers in their teaching capacity.

But, unlike this journalist, I actually spoke with the PPTA. I was told the PPTA position exempts "academic prizegivings", even though that's not what the Ministry indicates. It would have been really nice of a journalist to contact the PPTA to clarify that end of year prizegivings are to be attended by teachers as they are exempt from the pay dispute, rather than write an inflammatory and incorrect article based on ignorance.