Education in New Zealand

Education in New Zealand
Ministry of Education / Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga
Minister of EducationErica Stanford
National education budget (2014/15)
BudgetNZ$13,183 million
General details
Primary languagesEnglish, Māori
System typeDecentralised national
Enrollment (July 2011[1])
Total762,683
Primary475,797
Secondary286,886
Attainment (2015)
Secondary diploma88%[2]

The education system in New Zealand implements a three-tier model which includes primary and intermediate schools, followed by secondary schools (high schools) and by 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 2018 the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), ranked New Zealand 12th-best at science, 12th-best at reading, and 27th-best in maths;[3] however, New Zealand's mean scores have been steadily dropping in all three categories.[4] The Education Index, published as part of the UN's Human Development Index, consistently ranks New Zealand's education among the highest in the world.[5] Following a 2019 Curia Market Research survey of general knowledge, researchers planned to release a report in 2020 assessing whether New Zealand's education curriculum is fit for purpose. The study found that people in New Zealand lack basic knowledge in English, maths, science, geography, and history.[6]

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative[7] found that as of 2022 New Zealand achieved 95.9% of what should be possible at its level of income for the right to education.[8]

  1. ^ "School Roll Summary Report: July 2011 – Education Counts". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  2. ^ "School leavers with NCEA Level 1 or above – Education Counts". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  3. ^ "PISA 2018 Insights and Interpretations" (PDF). OECD. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Results from PISA 2018: New Zealand" (PDF). OECD. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Human development indices" (PDF). Human Development Reports. 18 December 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  6. ^ George, Damian (19 November 2019). "Kiwis display knowledge gaps in areas like basic maths, geography, and New Zealand and world history". Retrieved 19 November 2019. A follow-up report to be released in 2020 will further explore whether New Zealand's education curriculum is fit for purpose.
  7. ^ "Human Rights Measurement Initiative – The first global initiative to track the human-rights performance of countries". humanrightsmeasurement.org. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  8. ^ "HRMI Rights Tracker Right to education". rightstracker.org. Retrieved 16 March 2023.