Stories by John Gerritsen
News
New NCEA tests poorly designed for Māori, Pacific students - report
An independent evaluation says it is likely the design of new NCEA maths and writing tests is unfair on Māori and Pacific teenagers.
'Absolutely cuckoo': Principals 'overwhelmed' by planned reviews, rule changes
Teachers and principals are warning they cannot cope with the pace and scale of changes to the school system.
Domestic enrolments drop at North Island universities
All five North Island universities say they have started the year with fewer full-time-equivalent domestic students than the same time last year. Audio
Maniapoto training centre double-claimed funding for hundreds of students
A small King Country training centre double-claimed government funding for hundreds of students even after it had been told not to.
Unredacted document reveals Te Pūkenga requested $330m from government
The figure was among several paragraphs marked for deletion in a ministerial briefing published by the Ministry of Education.
'Over-worked, over-stressed, under-paid': Striking teachers make voices heard
Thousands of striking teachers rallied, chanted and shouted at Education Minister Jan Tinetti in the first ever strike involving kindergarten, primary and secondary school teachers.
'I'm striking for our children': Striking teachers in their own words
Thousands of teachers are walking off the job over stalled pay talks with the Ministry of Education.
Schools told to ramp up efforts to stop racist bullying
The Education Review Office says schools must do more to stop racist bullying of children from ethnic communities. Audio
Unpaid staff, centres closing, lower quality: Some ECE centres struggle to afford pay parity
Some early childhood centres do not know how they will cover the cost of pay parity for their teachers.
Pay parity 'unviable' for some early childhood centres, body says
The Early Childhood Council warns some early childhood centres have blundered into pay parity for their teachers and cannot afford it.
Schools' rolls will drop in 10 years, ministry predicts
Schools in Wellington and Auckland will suffer the biggest losses as the population of school children drops during the next 10 years.
Some parents back teachers but say strike timing 'not ideal'
This year's expected strike of about 50,000 school and kindergarten teachers comes after years of pandemic-driven disruptions and soon after cyclone-related school closures.
New NCEA tests should be ditched as downsides so major - deputy principal
Some teachers agree the Qualifications Authority unwittingly made trial NCEA literacy and numeracy tests too difficult last year.
Agencies dispute over how to solve low literacy and numeracy scores
High failure rates in new literacy and numeracy tests have led to friction between the Qualifications Authority and Ministry of Education. Audio
'An enormous mission': Schools race to relocate to escape flood-hit sites
Principals of the most flood-damaged schools say it will be many weeks before they reopen their classrooms.
'Somewhat demoralising': Unis keen to rejuvenate near-empty lecture rooms
Universities are encouraging students to attend their lectures in-person in an attempt to avoid a repeat of last year's often-deserted lecture theatres.
Year off to a good start despite Covid and weather, some principals say
Covid, bad weather and the price of petrol are among the challenges schools have encountered in their first few days of the new school year.
Spike in truancy driven by Covid restrictions, some principals say
Education Ministry figures show serious truancy spiked last year, with nearly 40 percent more than in 2021.
Call for free school lunches to be extended to more children
A group of health experts is urging the government to expand its free lunch scheme to more schools.
Principals expect less disruption but warn big effort needed on attendance
Flooding in Auckland has dashed hopes of a trouble-free start to the school year but principals are confident their biggest problem of the past three years, Covid-19, will cause a lot less disruption…
Teachers' industrial action could have big impact on schools - PPTA
Members of the secondary school teachers' union are poised to take industrial action from next week.
Teens reflect on NCEA assessment results
Thousands of teenagers and their schools have spent the past 24 hours checking their exam results.
Free software programs a risk to students' privacy - EdTech industry body
Software makers warn under-funding is prompting schools to use outdated and cheap computer programs that create cybersecurity and privacy risks.
Universities lukewarm on new website aimed at foreign students
Universities aren't sure they want to be part of a new website that will offer online courses to foreign students.
'Excluding doesn't discourage them' - Smoking and vaping drive rise in school stand-downs
A rise in students being stood down from school last year was driven by smoking and vaping, according to figures from the Ministry of Education. Audio