Auckland, July 18 NZPA - Protesters at the National Party conference in central Auckland's Sky City pushed their way through security cordons and attempted to enter the building to show their opposition to newly introduced labour laws.

By Kate Chapman of NZPA Wellington, July 2 NZPA - Teachers have to do what the Government tells them to, Education Minister Anne Tolley says. The 550 principals at the Principals Federation Conference in Queenstown yesterday voted to oppose national standards.

Wellington, July 2 NZPA - Principals with concerns over the national standards should contact the Education Ministry or the minister herself, not issue media statements, Education Minister Anne Tolley says.

Wellington, June 22 NZPA - National education standards will make students feel like failures, Wellington's Mount Cook School principal Sandra McCallum says.

Wellington, June 22 NZPA - An education sector union will today take a petition to Parliament outlining concerns with the implementation of national standards in schools.

Wellington, June 15 NZPA - Eight schools have "flat out" refused to implement national standards and their boards of trustees could be sacked if they do not back down by 2011, the New Zealand School Trustees Association says.

By Kate Chapman of NZPA Wellington, May 21 NZPA - Parents may have to pay more for early childhood education (ECE) but Finance Minister Bill English says changes were necessary now to avoid "drastic decisions" in the future.

By Kate Chapman of NZPA Wellington, May 20 NZPA - The parents of tens of thousands of children face increased costs for early childhood education (ECE). Estimates of the possible fee increase range from $25-$42 a week per child after the budget was released today.

By Kate Chapman of NZPA Wellington, May 20 NZPA - The Government wants to focus early childhood education (ECE) on low socio-economic areas and has cut down the incentives for having a high proportion of registered teachers -- meaning parents may have to pay more.

Wellington, Feb 9 NZPA - Education Minister Anne Tolley has urged people to look beyond the controversy surrounding national standards as processes get underway to implement it in primary and intermediate schools.