Over 500 jobs will be cut at the Ministry of Education. Image by Marten Bjork on Unsplash.
<h2><span data-contrast="auto">Around 12 percent of jobs at the Ministry of Education will be cut, and priorities for regionally allocated professional learning and development (RAPLD) have changed. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></h2>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">These changes at the Ministry of Education were announced at the end of Term 1 in early April, and have caused widespread concern among educators. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
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<p><span data-contrast="auto">Jobs lost at the Ministry of Education include 216 roles from the operations and integration group, 197 from the curriculum centre, 91 from regional offices, 39 from the property group and 22 policy positions. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Regional roles on the chopping block include disability, migrant and language and speech therapy workers. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Eight nutrition experts and at least six advisors for Ka Ora Ka Ako are also set to be dismissed. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Of the 565 roles set to go at the Ministry of Education, 225 are currently vacant.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<figure id="attachment_30177" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30177" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="size-medium wp-image-30177" src="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/pat-ho-2FCVdvwqmGg-unsplash-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-30177" class="wp-caption-text">Over 500 jobs are set to be slashed from the Ministry of Education, many from their offices in Wellington. Image by Pat Ho on Unsplash.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The Ministry of Education has stated that “Our proposed changes have been designed to avoid impacts on direct services to children, teachers and principals/leaders.” </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">NZEI Te Riu Roa disagrees, however, stating that the cuts will affect day-to-day operations by undermining already limited support for staff and students. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">“The scale of these cuts are devastating,” said President Mark Potter. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">“Services that support schools and students within the Ministry are being slashed. Cuts to staff ensuring best practice approaches to support children by speech language therapists, early intervention teachers and other specialist staff, cuts to school lunch programme staff, cuts to the experts designing the delivery of services for Māori and Pasifika students and those developing our world-leading curriculum, cuts in direct support and expert advice for schools around the day-to-day management of schools and early childhood education services; take your pick, these cuts will all impact ultimately on teaching and learning in the classroom.” </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The union has also stated that the cuts will disproportionately impact Pacfic people by reducing support to an already underserved portion of the education sector.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Potter added that the cuts “will potentially have huge impacts on education and students for years to come.”</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">PPTA Te Wehengarua president Chris Abercrombie agreed, stating in a press release that “These cuts will have serious ramifications – maybe not immediately but increasingly over the next couple of years.”</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Abercrombie stated it was not the first time that cuts at the Ministry had created “a gaping hole in essential work and support for schools and teachers further down the track.”</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Cuts to the NCEA change and curriculum programme were especially concerning, said Abercrombie, as “these programmes are at the heart of teaching and learning and young people’s qualifications and opportunities. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">“The work will still need to be done and it will most likely mean school leaders and teachers will pick up the shortfall, creating further pressure on an already straining system.” </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Meanwhile Education Minister Erica Stanford said that short-term contractors will be used to help write changes to the education programme. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The Public Service Association’ (PSA) assistant secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said the move toward contractor and consultant spending was “hypocritical and may end up costing more in the long run&#8230; they are decimating the ministry losing important capability in critical areas like the review of the curriculum.” </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Stanford said that roles would be added to the curriculum team following the cuts, including more staff in regions which would get resources on the front line. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<figure id="attachment_30178" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30178" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="size-medium wp-image-30178" src="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/van-tay-media-TFFn3BYLc5s-unsplash-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-30178" class="wp-caption-text">Contractors will be used to help with curriculum changes, said Education Minister Erica Stanford. Image by Van Tay Media on Unsplash.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Stanford characterised the changes at the Ministry as “redirecting funds” to the frontline, pointing to the announcement of $2.9 million to combat period poverty as an example of the Ministry’s commitment to funding frontline services. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Meanwhile, in addition to job losses at the Ministry of Education, the government has signaled their changing approach to education with updates to the RAPLD priorities. Applications for the Term 1 round of RAPLD allocations will now be assessed against:</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ï·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{";335552541";:1,";335559685";:720,";335559991";:360,";469769226";:";Symbol";,";469769242";:[8226],";469777803";:";left";,";469777804";:";ï·";,";469777815";:";hybridMultilevel";}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">“structured approaches to literacy, pānui and tuhituhi </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></li>
<li data-leveltext="ï·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{";335552541";:1,";335559685";:720,";335559991";:360,";469769226";:";Symbol";,";469769242";:[8226],";469777803";:";left";,";469777804";:";ï·";,";469777815";:";hybridMultilevel";}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">NCEA level 1 implementation and the co-requisites </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></li>
<li data-leveltext="ï·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{";335552541";:1,";335559685";:720,";335559991";:360,";469769226";:";Symbol";,";469769242";:[8226],";469777803";:";left";,";469777804";:";ï·";,";469777815";:";hybridMultilevel";}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Assessment and aromatawai”.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">In the announcement, MoE stated that the priorities “have been realigned to support the Government&#8217;s commitment to increasing literacy rates for all students and upskilling existing kaiako in teaching reading and writing or pānui and tuhituhi and the use of assessment for learning and aromatawai.” </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:279}"> </span></p>

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