OPINION
Alwyn Poole
Founded and was the head of Mt Hobson Middle School in Auckland for 18 years. MH Academy is now an in person private school for Year 11 – 13. There is now a nationwide online provision called Mt Hobson Academy Connected for Years 1 – 13.
It is impossible to overstate the dire situation the New Zealand education system is in – and the future consequences for individuals, families and society as a whole.
It was been pointed out that the Ministry of Education has grown from 2700 employees (already well and truly overblown and inefficient) to 4400 employees over the last six years. Completely inversely related to the achievement of students. The top twelve should already have walked with their heads hung low.
Recent critique is about the twenty building projects cancelled and the three hundred and fifty on hold. This is not all bad as many of these builds will not be high value for money and ignore the changing nature of teaching and learning (e.g. www.mthobson.school.nz).
Rumour has it that the Ministry has told the Minister that any cuts to funding can only go as deep as 2% before property is affected. Nonsense. The 4400 Ministry employees come at an average cost of $103k per annum (and I wonder if that takes into account overtime, etc, the officials get but teachers don’t). That totals to $453,200,000 for achieving very little (at best). Even the extra 1700 Ministry employees cost the taxpayer over $175,000,000.
ACT campaigned on taking the bureaucracies back to 2017 levels. That would only solve half of the Ministry of Education problem … but it would be a start.
There is not a child in New Zealand of lower inherent value than the Secretary for Education – Iona Holstead (who is paid around $600,000 per annum). It is well past time that things were realigned.