John Gerritsen
Schools find retirees, overseas teachers to fill staff gaps
Schools are starting to reopen from today and many are still searching for teachers. In some cases schools are using retired teachers, overseas teachers and part-time workers to ensure they begin the… Audio
Hundreds of teacher vacancies as schools reopen
Children back at school this week could be taught by untrained teachers with schools still looking to fill hundreds of teaching positions. Principals say they're having to make compromises to fill the… Audio
Special grades given to students in disrupted exam last year
NCEA results published today include special grades for nearly 11-hundred students whose online English exam was disrupted last year. The level 1 students lost their connection to the exam server for… Audio
Auckland principals appalled by attendance services
Auckland secondary school principals are so fed up with their local truancy services, they're hiring their own staff to do the job. They say just one of the city's four attendance services is good at… Audio
Anxiety, gaming fuel truancy
Anxiety and excessive online gaming are being blamed for more children wagging classes or refusing to go to school at all. Audio
IPCA slams officer over conflict of interest
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has slated a former officer who damaged an investigation into a teacher's relationship with a 13-year-old girl and misled the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal. Audio
More than 60 NZ schools fail Auditor-General check
The Auditor-General's office has filed its annual report card on schools and there was by no means a pass mark for all. More than sixty were found to have broken the law, mostly because they borrowed… Audio
Tomorrow's Schools are not fit for today
A government task-force has recommended putting the brakes on out-of-zone enrollments, guarantee jobs for new graduate teachers, and set up a network of education hubs to support schools - changes… Audio
Tomorrow's schools review: trustees in the firing line
A government taskforce has proposed a drastic overhaul of the education system. Radio New Zealand's education correspondent John Gerritsen joins us to explain more. Audio
Primary teachers holding out for better workload deal
Primary teachers and principals have rejected the latest offer from the Ministry of Education, saying they're determined to hold out for a pay deal that improves their workloads. Audio
Science teachers warn of national problems from poor science results
High school science teachers say they're alarmed that most students are arriving with a sub-standard science education, and it could have dire consequences. Results from the National Monitoring Study… Audio
Most NZ children not ready for high school science
A new report has exposed abysmal results in science for children finishing primary school. The National Monitoring Study of Student Assessment shows just one in five Year 8 children are reaching the… Audio
ECE overhaul could see some centres put out of business
The government expects its overhaul of the early childhood sector will run some centres out of business, but won't raise fees for parents. While the Early Childhood Council says some of the proposals… Audio
Primary teachers finish week of strikes
Primary school teachers have wrapped up a week of rolling one-day strikes with a call to arms. The Educational Institute held the last of the strikes in the Wellington region today. Our education… Audio
Primary teacher strike ends in Wellington
Primary school teachers end their week of rolling strikes in the Wellington region on Friday. The one-day strikes have closed more than a thousand primary and intermediate schools since they started… Audio
Principals warn of culture shock for foreign teachers
Hundreds of foreign teachers recruited to tackle the teacher shortage face a culture shock in New Zealand classrooms. That's according to principals who say the Kiwi way of teaching and Maori and… Audio
Secondary teachers to vote on strike
Rolling strikes by primary school teachers and principals move on to Christchurch today. Meanwhile secondary teachers are now half-way through a series of regional meetings that will decide if they… Audio
Primary teachers strike: What you need to know
More than 100,000 primary school students in Auckland will be home from school on Monday as teachers and principals walk off the job for the second time this year. It's the first day of rolling… Audio
Schools divided over best way to teach teens
Classrooms have changed radically in the past decade to become future focused. But John Gerritsen investigates if they are equipping children well or leaving them short on essential knowledge. Video, Audio
One Year On: Teachers disappointed, frustrated
The government took over the education system with a bang - getting rid of the loathed National Standards in reading writing and maths within months of taking power, and moving to convert charter… Video, Audio
