Stories by John Gerritsen

Schools will not know which students are attracting funding targeted to children of beneficiaries, and they don't need to, Education Minister Hekia Parata says.

The Budget was disappointing and lack-lustre for schools, say groups representing principals and teachers, while a major early childhood group says it's a slap in the face.

BUDGET 2016 - The Budget featured a mixture of spending on education pressure points such as school property and special education and relief for tertiary institutions.

Secondary school principals need to be able to take action when international students misbehave outside of school time, they say.

Next week's Budget will include funding for seven new charter schools, a move teacher and principals groups are unhappy about.

Teachers are happier and students better behaved but low-decile schools are struggling to keep up, a survey of secondary schools shows.

Universities and polytechnics need to axe courses, sell buildings and stop fighting each other for enrolments, says the Tertiary Education Commission.

ANALYSIS: The government's overhaul of school and early childhood funding is still under development, but clues have emerged this week, writes John Gerritsen.

The Tertiary Education Commission is investigating Lincoln University and the West Coast's Tai Poutini Polytechnic.

The government has revealed further details of its plans for school and early childhood funding systems, including a focus on at-risk students.

The government has been told NCEA needs a shake-up after research showed many teens getting the qualification were not functionally literate or numerate.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find coaches and managers for school sports teams, say secondary school sport leaders. Audio

Visa figures show schools and private tertiary institutions are bearing the brunt of a fall in foreign student numbers.

Special education desperately needs more funding, which should be included in the government's overhaul of the sector, parents and educators say.

Many schools are illegally stopping children from attending class, saying they don't have the specialist support to deal with their behaviour, IHC says. Audio

Schools in the north Waikato town of Paeroa are again refusing to enrol a child because of his violent behaviour.

A former school principal has been censured and a board of trustees criticised for failing to alert authorities to sexual allegations against a teacher.

The government looks set to hit its target for lifting NCEA achievement this year, but has admitted it will be hard to reach its goal for early childhood education.

Complaints to the Education Council about incompetent early childhood and primary school teachers have doubled in the past two years.

One of the two teachers who was involved with a 13-year-old girl, who has since died, will be deregistered.

Poor children in New Zealand are more than six times more likely to do badly at maths than well-off children, a new OECD report says. Audio

Universities and other tertiary institutions are facing the loss of 10,000 students and many millions of dollars a year in fees and grants over the next three years.

Distrust is slowing the uptake of a computer system designed to make national standards in reading, writing and maths more accurate, school groups say.