A National government would rewrite the school curriculum for primary and intermediate kids to push "non-negotiable" subjects like maths, reading, writing, and science, Christopher Luxon has announced.
He is yet, however, to provide full details.
The National leader explained that the policy would focus on giving schoolchildren under the age of 13 "the basics" that would build a "foundation" for other knowledge.
Luxon said should National be in government following this year's election, it would define the curriculum "year by year" for teachers in order to reduce time spent on preparing lessons.
"What I mean by that is, at the moment, our curriculum takes one to three years, and it sort of says: 'Oh, we're gonna learn addition and subtraction somewhere between Year 2 and Year 5'. In Australia, in the UK, you'll learn that in Year 1," he told Breakfast.
"We're here to make their life easier, because part of the challenge a teacher has, is that they say: 'I've got a band of two to three years to teach a curriculum, and it's pretty loose and undefined'.
"If we can give it definition year-by-year, then teachers actually know exactly what they're doing — they're not wasting time in the evenings on the weekends preparing their lessons.
"My wife was a teacher, and I sort of observed all the extra work that teachers are doing.
The Education Ministry is developing an evidence-based literacy teaching model for all schools to follow.
"They're also doing all the work of parents, they're often doing the work of social workers and counsellors. We want them to be able to get back to teaching the basics well."
When asked, Luxon said he would "fully agree" to having more resourcing and better working conditions for teachers alongside implementing his new curriculum.
Teachers went on a historic strike over working conditions last Thursday after pay negotiations broke down with the Ministry of Education. In response, Education Minister Jan Tinetti told teachers that the Government "can do better".
National's detailed policy proposal, titled Teaching the Basics Brilliantly, is not expected to be unveiled until Thursday. In a media release, Luxon teased the policy today.
He said "achievement has been in decline for the last 30 years" and that policies were needed to tackle falling literacy and numeracy measures.
"A recent NCEA pilot exposed just how far achievement has fallen, with a staggering two-thirds of students unable to meet the minimum standard in reading, writing and maths."
At age 15, Around one in five students have poor reading or maths skills, according to the latest research.
He continued: "Evidence shows children’s abilities are often underestimated and therefore the looseness in the New Zealand Curriculum means some Kiwi kids are learning the building blocks of reading, writing and maths later than they should.
"At the moment, one curriculum level can span several school years, which makes it difficult to identify and help children who are falling behind."
The Ministry of Education is currently undertaking a "curriculum refresh", which affects all school students in the country and will be fully implemented by 2026.
The first stages of the refresh went into effect at the start of this year, with New Zealand history now part of the curriculum for all schools.
A social studies teacher’s alleged Māori land ownership comments is one incident that is causing unease.
Last week, ACT released its own proposal, which would set up a reward fund for principals to administer for "good teachers to be appropriately remunerated".
"That isn’t happening at the moment because they are rewarded for years on the job rather than excellence. They also have to put up with an overstaffed Ministry of Education forcing a ‘curriculum refresh’ and other bureaucracy that gets in the way of teaching," the party's education spokesperson said.
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