The Green School Construction Funding w/ Chris Edwards & Paul Gouter: August 27th, 2020

Yesterday afternoon we saw Associate Finance Minister James Shaw announce as part of the COVID-19 recovery fund, 11.7 million dollars going towards The Green School, a privately owned school in Taranaki, which focuses on providing schooling without exams and a focus on the environment. This is the second of its kind in the world, with the first one in Bali. Since the funding announcement, there has been backlash as there is need across the country for new buildings, repairs and renovations of schools, with anger that it went to a private school with fees reaching $43,000 for international students. There has also been criticism of Shaw as this goes against Greens policy, which states a complete movement away from private schooling. To understand the situation better, producer James Tapp talked to Chris Edwards, the CEO of The Green School, and Paul Gouter, the national secretary for NZEI Te Riu Roa.