Cracks in the education system are being exposed as politicians attempt to win voters in the lead up to the general election.
Reports are surfacing of teachers not being paid correctly or on time, under-achievement in the classroom, overpriced school fees and growing student debt.
Politicians spoke out about the emerging trends at a forum organised by the Quality Public Education Coalition in Auckland on Saturday.
Teachers Not Being Paid
National MP Anne Tolley said that according to six school principals in the Gisborne area, teachers are not paid on time, and often paid the wrong amount.
"I have had one principal tell me that he has not had one pay to his staff that has been correct this year," she said.
Tolley explained that if the school has problems with paying the teachers wages there is an emergency fund held at Datacom.
Datacom, an IT services company, holds the "emergency pot" on behalf of the Ministry of Education, and used to pay staff if required.
"[The principal] was told the pot was empty at the end of the first week [of term 1]."
After turning to the Ministry of Education, the principal said he was told to take the money out of their operating grant. But this is an option many schools can ill afford.
"You are not allowed to do that because there is no guarantee that it will be reimbursed," Tolley said.
When asked about the issue Education Minister Chris Carter told the Epoch Times that there are almost 100,000 teachers in the country and most have been paid correctly.
Spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Iain Butler, said they acknowledged that some teachers did not receive the correct pay at the beginning of the year.
"We estimate that less than one percent were affected, and all but received some of their wages."
"Given that 65,000 changes were made for the first pay period of the new year (in early February) a small number of errors is inevitable."
Maori Under-achievement
Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell said teachers are finding it difficult to engage students, particularly those of Maori background. He said that research shows that schools with a solid Maori curriculum reflect better performance among Maori students.
In 2004 Maori students accounted for 21 percent of the school population, but formed 47 percent of all suspensions. In the next year some 53 percent of Maori boys left school without the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA).
Flavell said the problem needs to be addressed and could require monitoring teachers.
"One quarter of New Zealanders are born Maori, and there is a growing Maori, Pacific Island and Asian population."
Parents Burdened with Fees
Parent Clint Deckard travelled to Wellington from the Hawkes Bay to tell the Minister of Education he is not happy with the fees that Central Hawkes Bay College is charging for learning materials.
Although schools are able to charge parents for course materials, he said the board had not provided any details of where the money was going.
Deckard said the fees are "incredibly high," with one art and design course costing as much as NZD $270.
"The reason it annoyed me is because I have been on the board myself and I know that money is not always spent wisely," he said.
The reason many schools collect fees, he said, is because they see a need to compete with other schools, in providing high-tech teaching aids such as interactive white boards and computer suites.
The Education Review Office (ERO), the auditing body for teachers and schools, examined the college late last year.
Spokesperson Jenny Clark said ERO does not review school fees unless they are specifically asked to or unless they have received a complaint.
She said the Ministry of Education has a policy about fees being voluntary at state schools, but schools can charge for materials.
"We review the performance of the board and the principal. They have certain requirements and responsibilities," she said.
"If the parent complains to us we would look at the complaint on its merits."
Deckard said he has written to both the Board of Trustees and Ministry of Education on a number of occasions.
"The Ministry gave me this letter. It was just a weasely, get out of it letter," he said.
His letter to the Ministry was received in November last year. The Ministry's response in December said, "If you have not received a response (from the school) by now, then you should have received one."
He also wrote to the board asking exactly what components made up the fees for each subject.
"The response I got was a breakdown of school subjects and how much the fee was for these subjects."
He said the college did reverse the transaction for the fees he paid, but has yet to give him a break down of the costs for the "Year 9 consolidated fee".
Central Hawkes Bay College principal Richard Schumacher said any school would charge for the take-home component of their courses.
He said their Year 12 metal work class is making motorbikes this year.
"You can't expect the school to provide the $300 of motorbike parts."
Feeds