Fears ‘no-one is monitoring’ homeschooled
The number of homeschoolers has jumped by 80% since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting concerns about the standard of home education.
Auckland principal Stephen Lethbridge said he’s previously seen the ministry approve homeschool applications when parents are ‘‘functionally illiterate’’.
‘‘We’d write to the ministry and say we don’t think that is a good idea, and their homeschooling application was still granted,’’ he said.
More than 2000 students have entered homeschool since the start of the year and some educators say Covid disinformation is adding fuel to the fire.
Northland and Southland have seen the biggest rises, with 91% and 86% increases respectively in homeschooled students since New Zealand’s first Covid case.
They were closely followed by Auckland and Bay of Plenty, which both saw an 80% increase. Waikato and Wellington saw the lowest increases at 45% and 56%.
Despite a small dip in May, when mask rules were relaxed, the number of children in homeschool is still on the rise.
The sudden jump in children being homeschooled has worried educators, who said they were concerned families may be being pushed away from mainstream schooling because of Covid disinformation.
‘‘I don’t want to be picking up the mess in two or three years because these children have no formal education,’’ Pat Newman, the chairperson for Tai Tokerau Principals Association, said.
Newman said he believed Covid conspiracy was the main driving force behind Northland families fleeing mainstream schools.
‘‘Since Covid, there’s been heaps and heaps of rumours spread online around what schools are doing.’’
Those rumours included ‘‘ridiculous’’ social media posts claiming schools would force children to get vaccinated. ‘‘There’s a large group of middle-class New Zealanders who have bought into this idea.’’
In March 2020, the month of New Zealand’s first Covid case, Northland had 516 homeschoolers. By July 2022, that number had risen to almost 1000.
Newman also said some families may be entering homeschool because of Covid anxiety. ‘‘We have some people leaving – they don’t want their kids around others not wearing masks. Schools are the piggy in the middle.’’
Kyle Brewerton, the principal at Auckland’s Remuera Intermediate, said the increase in homeschooling was due to a combination of factors.
‘‘It includes those who are disenfranchised, those who have disconnected from that schooling system. Families who have disconnected from day-to-day life.
‘‘We still have parents coming to us to say that we’re mad for thinking that masks are a good thing,’’ he said.
A jump in homeschooling wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, Newman said.
But he was concerned there