A new report has heavily criticised how the Ministry of Education handled the post-earthquake Christchurch school reshuffle nearly four years ago.
The Ministry of Education has been forced to apologise for its flawed handling of school closures and mergers after the 2011 Canterbury earthquake.
More now on the Minister of Education sticking with her proposals in February to close or merge earthquake-hit Christchurch schools, with the exception of some New Brighton schools.
Incomplete logos for a feature titled, "What makes our schools special".
A video of three Chisnallwood Intermediate students reading their stories about the Christchurch school closures. The students are Sophie Yeoman, Breana Riordan, and Phoebe Thompson.
A video of Principal Richard Patton announcing to staff and students that Chisnallwood Intermediate is to remain open. Chisnallwood is one of thirteen schools which the Ministry of Education planned to close after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A logo for a feature on school closures.
A graphic promoting a video on the press.co.nz site, titled, "What makes our schools so special".
A page banner for a feature on school closures.
A page banner for a feature on school closures.
A graphic giving key dates for school closures and mergers.
A logo for a feature titled, "Schools facing closure or merger".
Graphs showing the results of a survey on proposed school closures.
A video of an interview with Judith Bell, music teacher at Chisnallwood Intermediate School, about the school's award-winning jazz band. This video is part of a series which looks at the innovative projects which will be lost if the Ministry of Education pushes ahead with its school closure and merger plans.
A video of an interview with Grant Ross, teacher at Branston Intermediate School, about the boys-only class he set up to encourage learning for boys. This video is part of a series which looks at the innovative projects which will be lost if the Ministry of Education pushes ahead with its school closure and merger plans.
A video of an interview with Rosey Acker, a helper at Kendal School, about the bike track that was set up at the school. This video is part of a series which looks at the innovative projects which will be lost if the Ministry of Education pushes ahead with its school closure and merger plans.
A video of a protest against the Ministry of Education's proposed school closures and mergers in Christchurch. More than a thousand people marched from the CBS Arena to the Ministry of Education office on Princess Street as part of the protest.
It's been revealed earthquake damage was only one factor considered by the Ministry of Education when it decided to close schools in Christchurch and that it was just as much to do with reducing the overall number of schools in the city.
A map showing the locations of Maori language classes affected by proposed school closures.
A graphic showing where intermediate pupils would go after the proposed closure of their schools.
An aerial photograph of Central New Brighton School in New Brighton.
The front page graphic for the Mainlander section of The Press, featuring an article about the school closures.
This thesis examines the closing of Aranui High School in 2016, a low socio-economic secondary school in eastern Christchurch, New Zealand, and reflects on its history through the major themes of innovation and the impact of central government intervention. The history is explored through the leadership of the school principals, and the necessity for constant adaptation by staff to new ways of teaching and learning, driven by the need to accommodate a more varied student population – academically, behaviourally and culturally – than most other schools in wider Christchurch. Several extreme changes, following a neoliberal approach to education policies at a national government level, impacted severely on the school’s ability to thrive and even survive over the 57 years of its existence, with the final impact of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes leading indirectly to Aranui High’s closure. The earthquakes provided the National government with the impetus to advocate for change to education in Christchurch; changes which impacted negatively on many schools in Christchurch, including Aranui High School. The announcement of the closure of Aranui High shocked many staff and students, who were devastated that the school would no longer exist. Aranui High School, Aranui Primary School, Wainoni Primary School and Avondale Primary School were all closed to make way for Haeata Community Campus, a year 1 to 13 school, which was built on the Aranui High site. Aranui High School served the communities of eastern Christchurch for 57 years from 1960 and deserves acknowledgment and remembrance, and my hope is that this thesis will provide a fair representation of the school’s story, including its successes and challenges, while also explaining the reasons behind the eventual closure. This thesis contributes to New Zealand public history and uses mixed research methods to examine Aranui High School’s role as a secondary school in eastern Christchurch. I argue that the closure of Aranui High School in 2016 was an unjustified act by the Ministry of Education.
The government is being accused of exploiting the Christchurch earthquakes to force through sweeping changes to schools in the city.
A protest sign painted on a fence shows a bulldozer labelled "Govt." driven by a woman (presumably representing Education Minister Hekia Parata) running over a sheep labelled "Chch schools", next to the words "Every time you close a school you have to build a jail - Mark Twain." The photographer comments, "Due to the earthquakes in Christchurch and parents leaving the area to give their children a quieter and more education friendly life a lot of the local schools especially in the East of Christchurch are to be closed or amalgamated. This was a decision by the government without consultation with any other authorities. Mark Twain actually said 'Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail'".
A page banner promoting articles about the restoration of the Arts Centre, and the proposed schools merger.
A video about the Ministry of Education's decision to close Avondale Primary School. The video includes interviews with Principal Mark Scown and Julie Begg, the parent of a student at the school.
A page banner promoting an article titled, "Parata rules out mergers".
A video of a press conference with Minister of Education Hekia Parata about the Ministry's decisions for secondary schools in Christchurch. Earlier in the day Parata announced that all secondary schools will stay open, and that Avonside Girls' High School and Shirley Boys' High School will share a new site.
About 70 percent of Canterbury's residential earthquake claims have not been dealt with and submissions on the closure of Christchurch schools show some are willing to sacrifice their neighbours.