Education: Children ‘biggest losers’

A $1.1 billion education budget is ‘‘not even a catch up’’ to inflation and years of funding freezes, sector bodies and unions say.

After an operations funding freeze last year, Thursday’s announcement of $60.5 million for schools’ operations grants – an increase of 1.3 per cent – plus up to 4 per cent extra for schools with a high number of at-risk students was both welcomed and lamented.

A $386m commitment to early childhood education coupled with $35m for children from benefitdependent households still represented a $15,000 loss for the average centre.

In tertiary education, there was lukewarm reception to a $20-perweek increase to accommodation benefits for students and $69.3m in tuition subsidies.

Early childhood education would suffer ‘‘funding cuts by stealth’’ for a seventh year running.

Early Childhood Education Council chief executive Peter Reynolds said Government’s multimillion dollar commitment promised 31,000 extra places, but did not increase much-needed per-child funding.

Thursday’s announcement ‘‘means the average childcare centre loses $15,000.’’

Reynolds predicted job losses in small, community-owned centres and higher costs for families.

He praised the $35m pledge to support disadvantaged children, which was expected to affect about 2000 of 4600 centres nationwide.

ChildForum chief executive Dr Sarah Alexander said funding extra places would not improve quality.

‘‘Good teachers are leaving the sector because of high stress.’’

The return of school operations grants was too little, too late, major education unions said.

New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) president Lynda Stuart said news of $60.5m over four years paled in comparison to the estimated $50m annual increase schools needed.

While targeted funding for at-risk children would help, NZEI calculated it amounted to about $2 per child, per year.

‘‘People have been struggling for long enough to make ends meet and ensure they’re doing the very best for our kids. A lot of this is just playing catch-up,’’ Stuart said.

‘‘We see children as the biggest losers in today’s budget.’’

Post-Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) president Jack Boyle said the 1.3 per cent increase to operations funding failed to keep pace with inflation.

Announced plans to provide teacher aides for another 625 children each year were tenuous as they were funded through operations budgets ‘‘that haven’t increased sufficiently’’.

Boyle and Stuart said $465m for school property was ‘business as usual.

Well-received was $1.2m for statutory interventions in schools, $7.5m for Maori curriculum resources and $4.2m extra for highneeds and autistic children.