Stories by John Gerritsen
News
Classes easily putting in an hour a day of reading, writing and maths - principals
Schools say they are having no trouble meeting the government's decree that they teach reading, writing and maths for an hour a day each on average.
Neurodiverse kids struggle with phone ban
Some neurodiverse children are struggling with the government's 'away for the day' ban on phones in schools.
School enrolment rules called 'heavy-handed and unnecessary'
Some schools' requirements are excessive and likely denying kids access to their local school, say advocates.
Universities 'positive' about enrolments after tough financial year
Universities are watching enrolments closely as they try to recover from their worst year on record.
Education minister wants evidence about what works in schools
Erica Stanford says there will be changes for initial teacher education, the education ministry, school property, and the curriculum Audio
How phone bans at schools are working
Schools have been open for just a few days, but many have already adopted the government's ban on mobile phones before it comes into force.
Government urged to tackle disparities for Māori, Pacific and disabled students
In their briefings to incoming ministers, education agencies also highlighted serious financial challenges.
NCEA pass rates down third straight year
The Qualifications Authority said three years of Covid-related disruption were probably to blame.
Lack of oversight of charter schools' student achievement, finances
Ministry documents reveal former partnership schools had major gaps in monitoring. Audio
Overdue student loan repayments hit more than $2.2b
Student loan repayments reached a high of $1.63 billion this year but overdue repayments exceeded $2.2b.
Evidence to back school phone ban 'marginal', ministry says
The Ministry of Education has also warned schools might push back on a ban and struggle to enforce it.
'Wānanga' must be protected term - Minister
Tertiary Education Minister Penny Simmonds wants to restrict the use of the term 'wānanga'.
One of the worst school attendance figures on record
Only 46 percent of pupils attended classes regularly last term, Education Ministry figures show.
Unqualified teaching staff in schools doubles since 2019
The number of unqualified people working as school teachers has more than doubled since the Covid-19 pandemic began and three of them are principals.
Te Pūkenga facing $93m-loss this year - document
Falling enrolments and a skewed funding system are behind the super-institute's looming deficit.
Massey University to put $150m in property up for sale or rental
Massey University wants to sell or lease nearly all of the Albany campus it has occupied for 30 years.
More than enough teachers for next year, ministry says
The estimates come amid warnings from secondary principals about shortages.
Te Pūkenga: Minister wants polytech local management in place early next year
The Tertiary Education Minister says local management will decide if the hundreds of redundancies the super-institute had planned for April should go ahead.
Schools spending grants on 'personal trips, home gym equipment' - report
Seven schools had serious financial problems last year and auditors warned of potential problems at a further 13.
NZ students report more negative behaviour in classrooms than OECD counterparts
New Zealand students may be some of the worst-behaved in the world. Or they might just have less tolerance for disruption in the classroom, a new survey has found.
Literacy, numeracy tests as NCEA requirement 'detrimental' to learners
A leading education researcher warns new high-stakes NCEA literacy and maths tests could do more harm than good.
Te Pūkenga halts transformation amid new instructions from government
Super-institute Te Pūkenga has halted its multi-million-dollar transformation and the fate of hundreds of staff is in limbo.
Student hunger, bad teachers revealed in latest PISA tests
Phones, hunger and bad teachers were among problems revealed as New Zealand teens' scores dipped further in the PISA tests of reading, writing and maths. Audio