Figure 1.--New Zealands boarding schools are almost all private schools. Several state secondary schools, however, have boarding hostels..
|
Figure 1.--New Zealands boarding schools are almost all private schools. Several state secondary schools, however, have boarding hostels.. |
Private (or independent) schools are governed by their own independent boards but are required to meet certain standards in order to be registered. Independent
schools may be either co-educational or single-sex. They charge fees, but also receive some funding from the government (currently equivalent to around 30 percent
of the average total cost of state schooling for years 1-10). Support for senior students in Years 11, 12 and 15 is 40 percent. The Targeted Individual Entitlement
Scheme (TIE) is a scheme designed to widen education choices for families with low incomes by providing an opportunity for their child to attend an independent
(private) school. It is up to the schools to decide whether they participate in the scheme, not all do. New Zealand has one of the smallest private or ndependent school systems of all the western democracies. Successive governments have made a concerted effort to absorb private schools through policies of reducing state support to private schools and generous financial enducements to schools agreeing to integration. Many parents, however preceive decling standards in the state system which is creating continued demand for private school education. The private schools are entirely self-managing and offer parents a wide range of educational perspectives. There are over a hundred throughout private schools in New Zealand. The private schools report that offer small class sizes and individual attention. The private schools focus on the pursuit of excellence and maintain excellent academic standards while pursuing the all round development of the individual. They provide a wide range of cultural and sporting activities. Many schools emphasize values and the character building.
The schools seek to provide a stimulating learning environment in a caring and supportive atmosphere. The schools seek to build a good working relationships between teachers, students and parents. Many schools give special attention to the spiritual dimension of life
The diversity of the New Zealand relatively small private sector declined in the 1980s and 90s as a result of economic forces and the Governments integration program. There are, however, still several different types of schools.
Many private elementary schools are organized and run as traditional English preparatory schools. Many of these schools were boarding schools, but only a few continue to offer boarding. These schools traditionally catered to preparing elementary boys (years 3-8) for entrance in private secondary schools, but many now also have pre-prep sections.
Many of New Zealand's oldest secondary schools were founded as private scgools, but subsequently incoroporated into the state system. Several private secondary schools are organized and run as traditional English public (private) schools. A few are boarding schools. Several of these schools have in recent years also been incorporated into the state system through the Government's integration policy.
While the Catholic schools have decided to integrate in the state system, many other Christian schools have decided to retain their independent status. Many are small, new schools associate with fundamentalist churches.
Private education in highly egaltarian New Zealand has been controversial. Many of the same criticisms leveled by Labour Party spokesmem in England have beenleveled against private education in New Zealand. This is the primary reason that News Zealand Gocernmebts have pursued an integration program to bring the private schools within the state system. Even so, no major New Zealand political parties have advocated the abolition of private education. Here are some views of private education in New Zealand.
While the New Zealand education system has always been a predominantly public one, independent schools have provided an alternative for those parents who have
exercised their choice for a different style of education. Under Tomorrow's Schools, some of the strengths of independent schools have been drawn upon to modify the public education system. The reforms reduce the heavy centralization of the old Departmental system, allowing schools much greater freedom over their operational and managerial
decision-making. The new system allows local decisions to be made locally, though issues such as national curriculum, national standards and requirements designed
to enhance equality of opportunity continue to apply to all schools in the public sector.
The National Party's ideals have always been to solidly support the right to democratic and free choice. In education National, and I, follow that line rigorously. That
is why our education policy for a new National Government ensures parents are given the maximum choice of schools, both independent and State, that they may
enrol their children in.
The New Zealand Independent Schools Association maintained that since it took office in 1984 the New Zealand Labour Government steadily eroded the position of independent schools. In that time the former contribution of 50% to teaching salaries has been eliminated entirely. This has been in spite of the compelIing equity argument that parents of independent school pupils are, in effect, paying for their education twice; once as taxpayers and then in direct school fees. There is also the economic argument that support for independent schools actually saves the Government money by reducing the cost to the taxpayer for the education of those in the private sector.
