A Salute to NZEI: Finally, A Line in the Sand

By Rebecca Thomas

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At last—a crack of light in the storm.

NZEI’s move to explore legal action over the government’s abrupt defunding of literacy and Māori resource teacher roles is more than welcome—it’s a long overdue reckoning.

It marks a refusal to stay silent while a government continues to gut our education system by stealth. A refusal to accept being gaslit, ignored, and pushed aside. A refusal to let taonga be discarded in favour of trendy ideology masked as “reform."

Let us say it clearly:

You cannot ignore due process.

You cannot make sweeping decisions that delete specialist roles without inviting those affected into the room.

You cannot promise consultation, then announce job losses in the Budget without warning.

You cannot gaslight professionals who have given decades of service—and expect them to stay silent.

For too long, this government has bulldozed through our sector, hiding behind catchphrases and ‘evidence’ that only suits their agenda.

The defunding of RTLit and Māori Resource Teachers is not an isolated decision. It is part of a troubling pattern—a series of policy moves made without authentic dialogue, cultural understanding, or professional respect.

But this time—finally—legal processes are catching up.

We applaud NZEI for taking this step.

We celebrate the courage it takes to push back in the face of political force.

When justice is forced into the courts, it means democracy has failed us in the corridors of power. But it also means we are no longer willing to accept silence.

This fight is not just about resource teachers. It’s about restoring the mana of our profession. And reclaiming the right to shape education with integrity.

NZEI deserves our full, vocal, and visible support.

But even as we stand behind NZEI’s legal challenge, we must also confront the narrative being used to justify these cuts. Because while jobs are being erased, the government is calling it a “reinvestment.” A reframing. An “opportunity” for those same RTLit teachers to reapply for newly created Structured Literacy positions.

It might sound like a smooth transition—but let’s be honest, it’s not built on mutual respect—it’s built on replacement.

From RTLit to “Structured Literacy”

Teachers are being told to reapply for roles rebranded under the government’s Structured Literacy model. It may be pitched as a transition—but for those who’ve dedicated their careers to tailored, relational literacy support, it feels like a professional dismissal.

Here’s why:

1. Expertise Traded for Compliance

RTLit teachers are highly trained literacy specialists, deeply experienced in diagnostic teaching, cultural responsiveness, and relational practice. The new SL roles are often aimed at generalist teachers embedded in classrooms, expected to follow centrally prescribed frameworks.

This isn’t a redeployment—it’s a downgrading of expertise.

2. Individualised Support Replaced by One-Size-Fits-All

RTLit work is based on responsive, targeted, wraparound support for learners who haven’t progressed through classroom instruction alone. SL delivery assumes that all children will progress within whole-class teaching, if the ‘science’ is followed precisely.

This is not how you serve our most vulnerable learners. It’s how you leave them behind.

3. Relational Mahi Undone by Speed and Scale

RTLit teachers work over time—building trust, integrating home languages, embracing context. SL roles are being implemented at pace, often with limited training, narrow curriculum scope, and little room for kaiako judgement.

Relationships don’t fit in dashboards. But that’s where the funding is going.

4. Te Tiriti and Equity Side-Stepped

Māori RTs have been frontline cultural anchors—offering language, manaakitanga, and support where systems failed. Their removal under the guise of “efficiency” is a direct threat to Māori educational success and partnership.

This is not equity.

Equity Turned Upside Down

Minister Erica Stanford has repeatedly claimed that the current RTLit and Māori RT roles were “not equitable”—arguing that some schools missed out, and therefore the whole model had to go.

But here’s the truth: her use of the word “equity” flips its meaning on its head. Because equity isn’t about flattening access or ensuring every school gets the same thing. Equity is about fairness. It’s about giving more to those who need more. It’s recognising that rural, high-needs, and Māori communities require targeted, specialist support—not less of it.

Stanford’s logic leads us to this: if some schools couldn’t access RTLit teachers, the answer is to remove them altogether? That’s not equitable. That’s punitive. It’s lazy policymaking wrapped in social justice language.

The RTLit and Māori RT system was never the problem. The problem was underfunding and inconsistent access—not the roles themselves. If the Minister truly cared about equity, she’d be scaling up—not cutting down.

So when she says “it wasn’t equitable,” we have to ask: Does she understand what equity actually means—or is she just using the word to sell a policy that does the exact opposite?

We do not need to choose between Structured Literacy and RTLit.

We need both.

We need balance.

We need respect for layered approaches and a system that wraps around the learner.

This is not reinvestment. This is rebranding. And it’s being done at the cost of our most skilled educators—and the tamariki they lift every day.

To NZEI: we thank you.

For taking the legal path.

For calling this out.

For giving teachers a place to stand.

And to every educator in Aotearoa: now is not the time for silence.

Kia kaha. Kia māia. Kia tū kotahi tātou.