John Gerritsen
Whakaari/White Island: Police provide update on recovery
Mike Clement has given an update to reporters in Whakatāne on the White Island recovery mission.
He said conditions on the island are quiet and it will take some time as staff put on the equipment… Audio
NZ scores continue to fall in international PISA test
New Zealand's worrying long-term decline in the international PISA tests of reading, maths and science has continued.
Overnight the OECD published the results of last year's tests of 600,000 15 year… Audio
Students rediscovering art of conversation thanks to phone ban
Students at an Auckland secondary school are rediscovering the joy of card games, lunch time sport and the simple art of conversation thanks to a total ban on phones during the school day.
Glendowie… Audio
School restricts phone use to make students socialise
Principals say more schools are banning or restricting mobile phones over fears the devices are stopping teens from playing and making friends.
Among them is Glendowie College in Auckland which… Audio
How schools will try to work around the donation-ban plan
Insight - The government's school donation scheme has not even started and schools are already looking for ways to push its rules to the limit. John Gerritsen investigates how far they will go to give… Video, Audio
Principals say schools looking to get around new donation rules
It has not started yet but some schools are already looking for ways to get around the new system.
Principals have told our education correspondent John Gerritsen that some schools are setting up… Audio
The Tomorrow's Schools report explained
The government's school reforms could spell the end for skewed school zones.
It is creating a new division of the Education Ministry that will review and redraw schools' enrolment zones and review… Audio
Government to announce decisions on school review
The Government will reveal today whether it wants a massive overhaul of the school system or something a little less ambitious.
The Education Minister, Chris Hipkins, is releasing the final report of… Audio
NCEA and Scholarship exams begin
Teenagers around the country are trying to turn off their phones, stay off Instagram and study for NCEA and Scholarship exams which begin on Friday.
The three-and-a-half week exam season starts this… Audio
Ministry wants to ban choke-risk foods from ECE centres
Sausages, chips and popcorn could be banned from early childhood centres because of the choking risk they pose for under-five-year-olds. The Education Ministry says pre-schoolers are at a higher risk… Audio
Teens describe rapid rise of vaping
Teenagers say vaping is addicting their friends to nicotine and a Rotorua principal is urging the government to restrict access and advertising of vaping products before Christmas. Meanwhile, primary… Audio
Teen describes rapid rise of vaping
School principals say the rapid rise of vaping among teens has spread beyond Auckland and they are hoping promised law changes will happen before the end of the year. They say some of their students… Audio
Donation dilemma for mid-decile schools
Some schools are facing a tough decision over the government's scheme for abolishing donations in schools in deciles one through seven. Many of those in the upper end of that range, deciles five, six… Audio
NZQA considers axing entire diploma category
Foreign students not meeting English language standards and being marked too favourably could result in the abolition of an entire class of qualification. More than half the people who enrol in level… Audio
Fewer school leavers gaining NCEA qualifications
The number of teens leaving school with NCEA qualifications fell for the first time last year. Fewer school leavers had NCEA 1, 2 or 3 than in 2017 and 7,000 had no qualifications at all. RNZ's… Audio
Auckland schools struggling to find teachers
Auckland primary school principals are warning that the city's long-running teacher shortage is as bad as ever and some say it is worse. They say some job vacancies are attracting no applications at… Audio
Auckland principal describes impact of teacher shortage
Auckland's primary school principals are worried that there has been no let up in the city's teacher shortage. They say nobody is applying for some of their job vacancies and they are not confident… Audio
Student alleges cheating, misbehaviour at polytech
A former international student has complained that he saw cheating and unruly behaviour in a course at Whitireia Polytechnic last year. The polytechnic has denied the allegations, saying it hasn't… Audio
Special education waiting lists grow despite increased support
Demand for specialist help for children with disabilities is outstripping the Education Ministry's ability to keep up. Figures provided under the official information act show the number of children… Audio
Special education waiting lists grow despite increased support
The number of children with disabilities waiting for support from the Education Ministry has increased, even though the ministry is helping more children than ever. The ministry worked with 36,476… Audio
