According to Education Minister Chris Hipkins, major milestones in the Government’s reform of the education system will give every New Zealander the best chance to succeed.
“Budget 2022 provides $2 billion operating expenditure and $855 million capital expenditure to build on and continue key shifts across the education system and deliver greater support to both education providers and learners,” he said.
These milestones include:
Equity Funding for Schools
“We are increasing the amount for schools that have students facing equity challenges and replacing the outdated school decile system, which is a government commitment I am proud to be delivering.
“Almost $300 million is being provided to implement a new Equity Index to replace the decile funding system. This includes $75 million per year in additional equity funding for schools with higher levels of socio-economic need. The funding being provided in this Budget also sets us on our way to make similar changes for early learning in the future.”
Pay Parity for Early Learning
Budget 2022 towards pay parity in early learning, between qualified, certificated teachers in education and care services and kindergarten teachers.
“This recognises the importance of a strong, capable education workforce and this Government’s commitment to delivering salary increases to lower paid workers,” noted Hipkins.
“A further $266 million in operating funding over four years in Budget 2022 builds on the $170 million provided through Budget 2021 to help deliver pay parity, and $151 million through Budget 2020 provided for improving teacher pay. On top of that, funding has also been set aside to work with kōhanga reo to continue improving pay for kaimahi.”
Frontline Support for Schools
“Budget 2022 also continues our work to implement Supporting All Schools to Succeed (the reform of Tomorrow’s Schools), putting more frontline support closer to schools so they can best support their students, and with a strong focus on continued improvements in teaching and learning.
“$22.3 million over four years will fund the first leadership advisor positions. These roles were a key recommendation of the Tomorrow’s Schools Taskforce. Together with the $40 million already announced for the new Regional Response Fund, this will enable greater flexibility in working with schools and communities to provide the support they need.”
“We want to set our children and young people up for the future. We are ensuring that what they are learning at school is interesting and relevant and there are opportunities for all learners, so that they want to be at school and are attending regularly. We want them to feel included, and we want to ensure there are tools and resources in place to support them where and when it’s needed.”
