John Gerritsen

Auckland early learning centre owners say they can't survive without parents' fees and they would need government support if attendance was banned for an extended period.

Auckland principals say they are well-prepared for a return to home learning this week, but with about 250,000 at home, schools warns some children will fall behind.

Eighty-five percent of surveyed agents agreed or strongly agreed that New Zealand's handling of the outbreak made it a more attractive destination for foreign students.

Polytechnics and universities are warning an expected leap in domestic enrolments next year will not make up for the loss of foreign students due to the pandemic.

Private tertiary institutions are warning that the government's $10 million support fund for their sector is not enough to help them through the dramatic loss of foreign students.

A Cabinet paper shows the government wants to use the pandemic to transform the $5 billion international student sector.

An organisation representing school principals wants the government to scrap a scheme that is costing $100 million-a-year, most of it in extra pay for teachers and principals.

The Tertiary Education Commission wants to slash government spending on tourism and retail courses by as much as 30 percent next year.

A five-week survey has recorded more than 200 physical and verbal attacks on staff at 15 Otago schools.

Teachers are disappointed the government has made only minimal changes to their right to use force to restrain students despite years of debate over the topic.

Thousands of foreign students are expected to have to stay in New Zealand over the summer holidays because there is no quarantine plan to let them return if they leave.

Victoria University and Manukau Institute of Technology have reported hundreds more mid-year enrolments than normal as job opportunities dry up.

Principals want foreign teachers exempted from the border ban so they can plug staffing gaps caused by the teacher shortage. Audio

Ministry of Education figures show 101 schools have dropped the Kiwi tradition of letting children start school on their fifth birthday - opting instead for "cohort entry".

The measures are part of a national push to dramatically reduce long-standing failure rates, particularly among Māori and Pasifika students.

Rising violence in primary schools has reached the point where one-in-four teachers feel unsafe in their own classroom - double the figure three years earlier, a national survey shows.

The number of new students training to be school teachers has been falling despite good pay settlements last year.

Massive fee rises at Australian universities are expected to affect New Zealand students and universities.

The fees-free policy persuaded hundreds of students to enrol in university last year, but some did not cope well with their first year of study, research indicates.

The institutes that make up the new national polytechnic made a multi-million-dollar deficit for the third consecutive year.

Anger at a jump in registration fees has prompted secondary teachers to vote no confidence in their own professional body, the Teaching Council.

Principals say schools have no idea where some of their students have gone since the lockdown and the Education Ministry has stepped in to help.

English language schools are warning their $500 million industry is in a critical state because of dwindling student numbers.

Travel restrictions are creating uncertainty for thousands of foreign school children who came to New Zealand for education and now cannot leave.

School zones and school choice allow rich schools to skim the best students from poorer communities, concentrating disadvantage in some schools, a Ministry study has found.