Government needs to fix education underfunding

NZEI Te Riu Roa says the Government is missing the point in its education funding review. It needs to fix the underfunding of New Zealand’s schools and early childhood services, right across the board.

NZEI National President Louise Green says the lack of funding is the real problem that schools are facing, not the decile system.

This is backed up by the findings in the latest OECD Education at a Glance 2015 report which shows that New Zealand’s annual expenditure per primary student is significantly below the OECD average.

“This doesn’t surprise teachers and principals and it won’t surprise parents who are increasingly being asked to dip further into their pockets as schools ask for bigger and bigger donations simply to stay afloat.

“That’s why the focus on the funding review must address underfunding. Playing with statistics will not fix the problem.”

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