Education in New Zealand

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Education in New
Zealand follows the three-tier model which includes primary schools,
followed by secondary schools
(high schools) and tertiary education at
universities and/or polytechs.

The Programme
for International Student Assessment ranks New Zealand's education as the
7th best in the world.[1]
The Education Index,
published with the UN's Human Development
Index in 2008, based on data from 2006, lists New Zealand as 0.993, amongst
the highest in the world, tied for first with Denmark, Finland and Australia.[2]

Education is free and compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16, although in
very special cases an exemption can be gained after applying to the MOE. These
may be granted to students who are close to 16, have been experiencing some
ongoing difficulty at school and have a job already lined up. Families wishing
to home educate their children can apply for exemption. To get an exemption from
enrollment at a registered school, they must satisfy the Secretary of Education
that their child will be taught "as regularly and as well as in a registered
school".[3]

Children almost always start school on their 5th birthday, or the first
School Day after it. Post-compulsory education is regulated within the New
Zealand National Qualifications Framework, a unified system of national
qualifications in schools, vocational education and training.

The academic year in New Zealand varies between institutions, but generally
runs from late January until mid-December for primary and secondary schools and
polytechnics, and from late February until mid-November for universities.

Contents

1 Early childhood
education

2 Compulsory (primary and
secondary)

2.1 Years of
schooling

2.2 Types of
schools

2.3 State school enrolment
schemes

3 Tertiary
education

3.1 Universities

3.2 Colleges of education
(Teachers' Colleges)

3.3 Polytechnics

3.4 Private Training
Establishments

3.5 Wānanga

4 Funding

4.1 Primary and
secondary

4.2 For tertiary
education

4.3 For students

4.3.1 Student
allowances

4.3.2 Student
loans

5 See also

6 References

7 External
links

[edit]
Early childhood
education

Many children attend some form of early childhood
education before they begin school.

Playcentre (Birth to school
age)

Kindergarten (Ages 3 –
5)

Kohanga Reo,

Licensed Early Childhood Centres (Ages 0 – 5) (usually privately
owned)

Chartered Early Childhood Centres (Ages 0 – 5) (state funded)

[edit]
Compulsory
(primary and secondary)

Main articles: Primary
education in New Zealand and Secondary
education in New Zealand

Primary and Secondary education
is compulsory for students between the ages of 6 and 16 (15 with parental and
school permission), and is a right until the end of the calendar year following
the student's 19th birthday. Disabled students with special educational needs
can stay until the end of the calendar year they turn 21. Most students start
when they turn 5, and remain in school for the full 13 years. A recent proposal
by the New Zealand Government, called Schools Plus, would see
students required to remain in some form of education until age 18.[4].

While there is overlap in some schools, primary school ends at Year 8 and
secondary school at Year 13. The last two years of primary school are frequently
taken at a separate intermediate school instead of at a primary school, leaving
'contributing' primary schools to end at Year 6. Some areas though have 'full'
primary schools which go to year 8. Outside of the following categories, many
private schools, state area schools and state integrated schools take students
from Years 0 to 13, or Years 7 to 13.

There are three types of school: state, private (or registered or
independent) and state integrated schools. State and state integrated schools
are government funded. Private schools receive about 25% of their funding from
the government,[5]
and rely on tuition fees for the rest. State integrated schools are former
private schools which are now "integrated" into the state system under the
Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975 [6]
"on a basis which will preserve and safeguard the special character of the
education provided by them". According to Independent Schools New Zealand, an
advocacy group for private schools, about 86% of all school-aged children attend
state schools, 10% attend state integrated schools and 4% attend private
schools.[5]
In addition, parents may home school their own
children if they can prove that their child will be "...taught at least as
regularly and as well as in a registered school...",[7]
and are given an annual grant[7]
to help with costs, including services from The Correspondence
School. The percentage of children home schooled is well under 2% even in
the Nelson region, the
area where it is most popular,[8]
but there are many local and national support groups.[9][10]

[edit]
Years of schooling

New Zealand has recently moved towards a system where school levels are
identified by the year number. Before this, a system of Forms, Standards and
Juniors was used. Although this system is not used in school administration any
more, it is still used in government legislation, at some schools (mainly
independent ones), and in talk with older generations, who often prefer to use
the system they are more familiar with. However, one should always ask "Which
year are you in?" rather than "Which form are you in?", as many of today's
students confuse 'form' with form class.

There are 15 year levels - numbered 0 through to 14. Students turning five
enter at Year 1 if they begin school at the beginning of the school year or
before the cut-off date (31 March in legislation, later for most schools).
Students who turn five after the cut-off date enter at Year 0. The last year of
primary school is Year 8, and students must vacate Year 8 by the end of the
school year after their 14th birthday (although most students are 12-13 when
they transition to secondary school). Year 13 is seen as the traditional end of
secondary school, with an extra year (Year 14) for those who are under 19 and
have finished Year 13, but still stay on at secondary school.

Under the old system of Forms, Standards and Juniors, there were two Junior
years followed by four Standard years in primary school, followed by seven
Forms. Forms 1 and 2 were in intermediate school and the remaining five were in
secondary school.

Year

Old system

Curriculum/Qualification Level

School type

0

New Entrants

Level 1

Primary school

Primary School

Composite school

1

Junior 1/Primer 1

2

Junior 2/Primer 2

3

Standard 1

Level 1-2

4

Standard 2

Level 2

5

Standard 3

Level 2-3

6

Standard 4

Level 3

7

Form 1/Standard 5

Level 3-4

Intermediate school

Junior secondary school

8

Form 2/Standard 6

Level 4

9

Form 3

Level 4-5

Secondary school

10

Form 4

Level 5

11

Form 5

Level 5-6 / Level 1

Senior secondary school

12

Form 6

Level 6-7 / Level 2

13

Form 7

Level 7-8 / Level 3

14

–

[edit]
Types of schools

Most schools
cater for either primary, intermediate, or secondary school students:

Years 1–6: Primary School (Ages 5–11)

Years 7–8: Intermediate School (Ages 10–13)

Years 9–13: Secondary School (Ages 12–18)

However, some schools cater for students across two or more of these groups.
These are rarer than schools which teach the groups above. Area schools are
generally found in rural areas, where there are not enough students to run three
separate schools productively. A list of these types of schools, and the years
they cater for, is below.

Years 1–8: Full Primary School (Ages 5–13)

Years 7–10: Middle School (Ages 10–15)

Years 7–13: Intermediate/Secondary School (Ages 10–18)

Years 1–13: Area schools (Ages
5–18)

Preschool – Year 13: The
Correspondence School (Preschool – Age 18)

[edit]
State school enrolment
schemes

For state schools, the Education Amendment Act 2000 puts in place a new
"system for determining enrolment of students in circumstances where a school
has reached its roll capacity and needs to avoid overcrowding." Schools which
operate enrolment schemes have a geographically defined "home zone". Residence
in this zone, or in the school's boarding house, if it has one, gives right of
entry to the School. Students who live outside the school's home zone can be
admitted, if there are places available, in the following order of priority:
special programmes; siblings of currently enrolled students; siblings of past
students; children of board employees and staff; all other students. If there
are more applications than available places then selection must be through a
randomly-drawn ballot. The system is complicated by some state schools having
boarding facilities for students living beyond the school's zone. Typically
these students live in isolated farming regions in New Zealand, or their parents
may live or work partly overseas. Many secondary schools offer limited
scholarships to their boarding establishment to attract talented students, such
as rugby players from Fiji, in imitation of private school practice.

Critics have suggested that the system is fundamentally unfair as it
restricts the choice for parents to choose schools and schools to choose their
students although it does allow all students living in the community to have
entry, as of right, regardless of their academic or social profile. In addition,
there is evidence that property values surrounding some more desirable schools
become inflated, thus restricting the ability of lower socio-economic groups to
purchase a house in the zone, though this is off set by the fact that students
are accepted from rental accommodation or from homes where they are boarding
with a bona fide relative or friend living in the zone.[4]

[edit]
Tertiary education

Main article: Tertiary
education in New Zealand

There are several branches of tertiary education in
New Zealand.

For non-private institutions, see also: state
sector organisations in New Zealand

[edit]
Universities

Typically, a bachelor's degree
will take three years, and a further year of study will lead to an Honours degree. Not every
degree follows this 3+1 pattern: there are some four year degrees (which may or
may not be awarded with Honours), and some specialist bachelor's degrees which
take longer to complete. Typically, Honours may be awarded with first class,
upper second class, lower second class or third class, but this can vary from
degree to degree. A bachelor's degree may be followed by a Master's degree. A
candidate who does not hold an Honours degree may be awarded a Master's degree
with honours: such a degree usually involves two years study, compared to one
year for a Master's degree for a candidate who does have an Honours degree. A
candidate who has either a Master's degree or a bachelor's degree with Honours
may proceed to a doctoral degree.

Entry to most universities is "open", that is to say that one only needs to
meet the minimum requirements in the school-leaving examinations (be it NCEA
or Bursary). A greater number of courses at New Zealand universities now have
selective admissions, with the University of Auckland offering a large number of
selective-entry courses. Mature students usually do not need to meet the
academic criteria demanded of students who enter directly from secondary
school.

Domestic students will pay fees subsidised by the Government, and the
student-paid portion of the fee can be loaned from the Government under the
Government's Student
Loan Scheme. Weekly stipends can be drawn from the loan for living expenses,
or the student can apply for a needs based (on assessment of parental income)
"Student Allowance", which does not need to be paid back. "Bonded Merit
Scholarships" are also provided by the Government to cover the student-paid
portion of fees, however, receipt of the Scholarship requires the recipient to
stay in New Zealand for a certain time after graduation (Cancelled as of 2009).
The New Zealand
Scholarship and the New Zealand
University Bursary are awarded to school leavers by a competitive
examination and also provide financial support to school-leavers pursuing a
university degree but do not entail any requirement to stay in the country after
they finish university. International students pay full (non-subsidised) fees
and are not eligible for Government financial assistance.

Until 1961 there was only one degree-granting university in New Zealand,
the University of New
Zealand which had constituent colleges around New Zealand. Now the colleges
are independent universities in their own right, and since then three new
universities have been created (Auckland University of Technology, Lincoln
University and Waikato University).

Universities in New Zealand:

Auckland
University of Technology (Auckland)

Lincoln
University (Lincoln, Canterbury)

Massey University
(Palmerston North,
Auckland, Wellington)

University of
Auckland (Auckland)

University of
Canterbury (Christchurch)

University of
Otago (Dunedin)

University of
Waikato (Hamilton)

Victoria
University of Wellington (Wellington)

[edit]
Colleges of education (Teachers' Colleges)

Partial list of historical or currently existing colleges of education.
Listed here are those which were listed [5] in Acts of Parliament as public (Crown-owned) providers of
teacher education:

Auckland
College of Education (Auckland)

Massey
University College of Education (Palmerston
North)

Wellington
College of Education (Wellington)

Christchurch
College of Education (Christchurch)

Dunedin
College of Education (Dunedin)

See: State
sector organisations in New Zealand (current list)

Most colleges of education in New Zealand in the past 30 years have gradually
consolidated (for example, Ardmore with Auckland), with the trend in the last 15
years to consider and effect mergers with universities closely allied
to them, for example, the Hamilton and Palmerston North colleges amalgamated
with Waikato and Massey respectively.

In the 2004-2005 period, the Auckland
and Wellington
colleges amalgamated with Auckland
University and Victoria
University respectively. In 2007 the Christchurch College of Education
amalgamated with the University of Canterbury. The remaining stand-alone college
in Dunedin amalgamated with the University of Otago in January 2007.

The name 'college of education' is protected by Act of Parliament—previously
the name 'teachers' college' was protected. Only universities and standalone
colleges of education may use this title. Thus, privately owned institutions
(which are not listed in Acts) providing teacher education such as the Bethlehem
Institute (Tauranga) must use alternative
names.

[edit]
Polytechnics

For a list of polytechnics, see: state
sector organisations in New Zealand

[edit]
Private Training
Establishments

This section requires expansion.

Private Training Establishments have been around for many years in New
Zealand. Their purpose is to provide training often not available in the public
sector. They also provide training to special needs groups or in time frames
that support different learner needs. Private Trainers like the Institute of
Applied Learning in Otahuhu Auckland has provided domestic learners and
international learners courses in Computing, Hospitality, Business, Health Care
and Contact Centre for over 17 years. The tutors are generally drawn from
industry rather than academia and the goal for most learners is employment
quickly. A list of providers is available on NZQA and TEC websites. Private
trainers have the ability to respond quickly to the changing needs of industry.
Most providers provide courses that are NZQA accredited and many offer
certificates, diplomas and degrees. Private trainers offer an alternative to
state schools and many learners prefer the supportive environment of most
private trainers

[edit]
Wānanga

See Wananga
for a list of
wānanga, see: state
sector organisations in New Zealand

[edit]
Funding

[edit]
Primary and
secondary

Government directly provides all or most of the funding for state and
"integrated schools" and about 25% of the funding for private schools[11].
A significant portion of the extra funding is available, dependent on the decile rating,with
low decile schools receiving the greatest amount per enrolled child and high
decile schools getting the least.<MOE booklet to Education Agents 2008>As
from 2010 the school rolls will be checked more often so that schools that expel
a large number of children will have that money deducted.<NZ
Herald>Schools cannot claim claim for students on exchange programmes.<MOE
booklet "Guidance for schools-exchange students > Schools also ask for a
voluntary donation from parents, informally known as "school fees".
This may range from $40 per child up to $800 per child in high decile
schools.The payment of this fee varies widely according to how parents perceive
the school. Typically parents will outlay $500–$1000 per year for uniforms,
field trips, social events, sporting equipment and stationery at State funded
schools.

[edit]
For tertiary
education

Funding for tertiary education in New Zealand is through a combination of
government subsidies and student fees. The government funds approved courses by
a tuition grant based on the number of enrolled students in each course and the
amount of study time each course requires. Courses are rated on an equivalent
full-time Student (EFTS) basis. Students enrolled in courses can access Student
Loans and Student Allowances to assist with fees and living costs.

Funding for Tertiary Institutions has been criticised recently due to high
fees and funding not keeping pace with costs or inflation. Some also point out
that high fees are leading to skills shortages in New Zealand as high costs
discourage participation and graduating students seek well paying jobs off shore
to pay for their student loans debts. As a result, education funding has been
undergoing an ongoing review in recent years.

[edit]
For students

Most tertiary education students rely on some form of state funding to pay
for their tuition and living expenses. Mostly, students rely on state provided
student loans and allowances. Secondary school students sitting the state run
examinations are awarded bursaries and scholarships, depending on their results,
that assist in paying some tuition fees. Universities and other funders also
provide scholarships or funding grants to promising students, though mostly at a
postgraduate level. Some employers will also assist their employees to study
(full time or part time) towards a qualification that is relevant to their work.
People who receive state welfare benefits and are retraining, or returning to
the workforce after raising children, may be eligible for supplementary
assistance, however students already in full or part time study are not eligible
for most state welfare benefits.

[edit]
Student allowances

Student Allowances, which are non-refundable grants to students of limited
means, are means tested and the weekly amount granted depends on residential and
citizenship qualifications, age, location, marital status, dependent children as
well as personal, spousal or parental income. The allowance is intended for
living expenses, so most students receiving an allowance will still need a
student loan to pay for their tuition fees.

[edit]
Student loans

The Student Loan
Scheme is available to all New Zealand permanent residents and can cover
course fees, course related expenses and can also provide a weekly living
allowance for full time students. The loan must be repaid at a rate dependent on
income and repayments are normally recovered via the income tax system by wage
deductions. Low income earners and students in full time study can have the
interest on their loans written off.

On 26 July 2005 the Labour Party
announced that they would abolish interest on Student Loans, if re-elected at
the September
election, which they were. From April 2006, the interest component on
Student Loans was abolished for students who live in New Zealand.

This has eased pressure on the government from current students. However it
has caused resentment from past students many of whom have accumulated large
interest loan portions in the years 1992-2006. As stated before many have
reluctantly been forced to seek employment overseas in order to pay back their
loans, with the UK and Australia gaining benefit from young, educated
diaspora.

[edit]
See also

History
of education in New Zealand

List
of universities in New Zealand

Environmental
education in New Zealand

New
Zealand Qualifications Authority

[edit]
References

^
[1]

^
"Human
development indices". Human Development Reports. 2008-12-18. http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDI_2008_EN_Tables.pdf. Retrieved 2010-02-16.

^
Home schooling", Ministry of Education website

^
NZPA (2008-09-19). "Clark sets 2014 deadline for education to age 18". New Zealand
Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10533068. Retrieved 2008-09-22.

^ a
b
[2]

^
[3]

^ a
b
'Home schooling", Ministry of Education

^
"Homeschooling as at 1 July 2010",
educationcounts.govt.nz

^
"The
Home Education Foundation"

^
"All resources for: Home schooling", tki.org.nz

^
"PDF Guide to New
Zealand schools". Independent schools of New Zealand. http://www.isnz.org.nz/main.cfm?id=2786. Retrieved 16 September 2009.

[edit]
External links

edCentre - online gateway to New Zealand education

Ministry of Education

Education Review Office

New
Zealand Qualifications Authority

Tertiary Education Commission

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Categories: Education
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