John Gerritsen
First week of school phone ban comes to an end
The pinging sound of social media notifications should have been silenced in classrooms around the country this week as the government's Away for the Day cellphone ban came into force. Education… Audio
Enrolments in Te Pūkenga workplace learning plummet
Enrolments in Te Pūkenga's only profitable division, workplace learning, have plummeted. Education correspondent John Gerritsen spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss. Audio
Cap on number of students sitting NCEA online
The Qualifications Authority is capping the daily number of students who can sit crucial online NCEA tests next month. Education correspondent John Gerritsen spoke to Corin Dann. Audio
Funding for Growing Up in NZ project ends
Funding for a major study of New Zealand children's health and wellbeing has ended and the Government is considering its future.
The Ministry for Social Development did not renew the contract for the… Audio
Immigration NZ turning down almost half of student visa applications from India
Agents say fraud and tougher rules are driving high refusal rates for foreign students applying from India.
Immigration New Zealand says it is turning down about half the study visa applications… Audio
Callaghan Innovation 'tens of millions' short for urgent building work
A confidential document leaked to RNZ says one of the country's top research institutes, Callaghan Innovation, is tens-of-millions-of-dollars short for urgent building work, some of which is needed to… Audio
Schools fighting back to save free lunch programme
Schools are fighting back to save the free school lunch programme, Ka Ora Ka Ako. Today Arakura School in Wainuiomata invited representatives of the teacher unions, Principals Federation and Health… Audio
Callaghan Innovation staff fear job cuts
Staff fear job cuts are coming at one of the country's top research organisations, Callaghan Innovation.
The Crown agency is holding a staff meeting Friday morning on what it calls a strategic… Audio
School stand-downs at record levels
School stand-downs have spiked to record levels after dropping away during the height of the pandemic.
Schools used the formal punishment more than 25,000 times in 2022, or nearly 3.3 times for every… Audio
Rushed NCEA guidelines not up to scratch
Some teachers refused to help when the government asked them just days before Christmas to write guidelines for teaching new NCEA standards.
They weren't swayed by the offer of $5000 to complete the… Audio
Biggest school investment ever made has failed says Secretary for Education
The Secretary for Education Iona Holsted has told MPs the single biggest investment ever made in schools has failed to deliver and politicians' policy flip-flops are partly to blame for schools'… Audio
Decile system to rank schools changes
Forget about high decile and low decile when you are talking about schools.
From now on the words to use are fewest barriers and most barriers.
That is the way government agencies are grouping… Audio
Massey Uni expects $41 million deficit for 2023
Massey University expects to chalk up a $41 million deficit for 2023.
It's lower than previously forecast and includes $19 million in redundancy costs, but the institution is likely to make two more… Audio
Universities warned their funding could run dry
Some universities could run out of cash this year or breach their borrowing limits.
The Tertiary Education Commission made the warning in a financial overview of the sector delivered to incoming… Audio
Phone ban causing problems for neurodiverse children
The Government's cellphone ban in schools is causing problems for some neurodiverse children who are struggling to get through the day.
Parents say they are not able to get an exemption.
Meanwhile… Audio
School phone ban proving to be a shock for some
Some school students are finding the government's ban on mobile phones a bit of a shock.
Schools have been open for just a few days, but many have already revised their rules to meet the new… Audio
Major gaps in monitoring of charter schools revealed
Education Ministry documents reveal there were major gaps in the monitoring of charter schools between 2013 and 2018, some of which the government of the day declined to fix.
The gaps included… Audio
Number of unqualified teachers working doubled
The number of unqualified people working as school teachers has more than doubled since the pandemic began.
Education Ministry figures show more than 1,800 people were working in schools in December… Audio
Te Pūkenga faces record deficit as chief executive departs
Te Pūkenga has announced the departure of its chief executive Peter Winder as it heads for its biggest deficit yet.
A document obtained by RNZ shows it is expecting to lose about $93 million this… Audio
Massey University selling and leasing off its Albany campus
Massey University is moving to sell or lease nearly all of its Albany campus as well as properties at its Wellington and Manawatū campuses.
It has called for proposals from real estate companies to… Audio
