Education in New Zealand
 |
|
|
Minister of Education Minister for Tertiary Education Secretary for Education |
Hekia Parata Paul Goldsmith Peter Hughes |
|---|---|
| Budget | NZ$13,183 million |
| Primary languages | English, Māori |
| System type | decentralised national |
| Total | 762,683 |
| Primary | 475,797 |
| Secondary | 286,886 |
| Secondary diploma | 88% |
The education system in New Zealand is a three-tier model which includes primary and intermediate schools, followed by secondary schools (high schools) and tertiary education at universities and polytechnics. The academic year in New Zealand varies between institutions, but generally runs from early February until mid-December for primary schools, late January to late November or early December for secondary schools, and polytechnics, and from late February until mid-November for universities.
In 2009, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), ranked New Zealand 7th best at science and reading in the world, and 13th in maths. The Education Index, published as part of the UN's Human Development Index consistently ranks New Zealand among the highest in the world.
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Māori ran schools to pass on tradition knowledge including songs, chants, tribal history, spiritual understanding and knowledge of medicinal plants. These wānanga were usually run by elders called tohunga, respected for their tribal knowledge and teaching was confined to the rangatira (chiefly) class. Reading and writing were unknown, but wood carving was well developed.
Formal European-style schooling was first introduced in 1815 and was well established in 1832 by the London Missionary Society missionaries, who learnt Māori and built the first schools in the Bay of Islands. Both children and adults were taught. The main resources were the Christian New Testament and slates, and teaching was in Māori. For many years the bible was the only literature used in teaching, and this became a major factor in how Māori viewed the European world. In the 1850s a Māori trade school was established at Te Awamutu by John Gorst to teach Māori practical skills associated with European-style farming, but in 1863 was burnt down by Rewi Maniapoto in the early stages of New Zealand Wars.
...
Wikipedia