The government considers the educational scheme that involves almost 2000 schools

A report to Erica Stanford said that saved money by cutting the Kāhui Ako scheme can be redirected to learn support for children with disabilities.
Photo: Samuel Rillstone / RNZ

The government is thinking of reaching an educational scheme of $ 118 million a year involving almost 2000 schools, in next month’s budget, shows a leaked document.

The Ministry of Education report to the Minister of Education Erica Stanford – obtained by RNZ – said the saved money by cutting the Kāhui Ako scheme could be redirected to learn to support children with disabilities.

The report warned that the plan had a high risk of legal or industrial challenge, but showed that the minister believed that most teachers would support him.

Kāhui Ako – Learning Communities – were created by a government led by Nacional in 2014. The scheme grouped schools to work on common problems with extra salary for a director to supervise each group and for selected teachers sharing good practices between and in schools.

The scheme was announced as one of the most expensive school initiatives of all time, but proved to be polarizing. The supporters said they helped schools work together effectively, while opponents said money would be better spent on other things.

The February report obtained by RNZ included a role of the cabinet that sought, in principle, a contract to destabilize the program.

He said the newspaper should be taken to the cabinet in March, with a formal decision to destabilize Kāhui Ako to be taken by the office in April.

The report said there were 220 kāhui ako, involving 1958 schools and 1506 early learning centers, and more than 4000 teachers received extra payment for the roles of Kāhui Ako.

He said that destabilizing the scheme would cost $ 39 million in two years, but would save $ 118m until 2027.

An annex to the document said that the principals received $ 25 to 30,000 to lead Kāhui Ako, teachers who worked in schools received $ 16,000 more and teachers working in schools of $ 8000 each.

The report said there were 220 kāhui ako, involving 1958 schools and 1506 initial learning centers.
Photo: Unsplash/ Joshua Hoehne

The report said schools also received financing to pay for help teachers to cover the times when their team was doing the work of Kāhui Ako and $ 1000 “maintenance subsidies” for being in a Kāhui Ako.

The report said payments to teachers and principals were protected through their collective agreements, so it would take several years for the full economy to be held.

He warned that the delay was one of the three “significant risks” on the plan.

The others were the risks of legal challenge and industrial action.

“There is a high risk of industrial action, because the moment of these changes coincides with collective bargaining,” the report said.

“Awakening the program through budget 2025 leaves no time enough for engagement or consultation with the sector. It is likely that there is a potentially public sector and opposition to changes if it is perceived as a reduction in financing and the team for schools and the salary benefits for teachers and principals,” the report said.

But hand -written notes on the document, apparently by the minister, suggested that most teachers and principals would support the decision.

“We made many consultations with directors and teachers in conferences – majority support,” said a note.

Other notes said, “We need to make it clear with unions in advance – this is for learning support,” “the sector supports destabilization,” while another said money can be used to increase the number of learning support coordinators.

The report said other risks included reduced incentives for collaboration between schools, the loss of a useful network to allocate resources, and possible impact on the conquest of children.

However, a handwritten note in the report said Kāhui Ako had not improved student results in general.

The report said the main benefits of removing the program included reinvesting money in services better aligned with government priorities, which returning full-time teachers and principals to their main roles and releasing help teachers who would otherwise cover the release time of Kāhui-Equivalent to about 600 full-time teachers.

A complicated procedure

The document said that the scheme cut would not be straightforward.

First would require a decision of the cabinet because the program was established by this decision.

The ministry would provide a report seeking the approval of the Minister of Education to destabilize the existing Kāhui Ako.

“It should be noted that it is unclear what previous ministers have exercised to establish each kāhui ako, and there is a risk that unions will retreat in this process of expropriation,” the article said.

Kāhui Ako’s various roles and teaching subsidies would then be removed in the 2026 personnel issued in September this year, which would establish school rights to teachers for next year.

“After this process, teachers and directors will no longer work on their roles since the beginning of the 2026 school year, and salary protection provisions in collective agreements will be applied. We foresee that the full economy will be held at the beginning of the school year of 2027”.

The documents said the ministry considered other disapproval options, but were too complex.

Directors and teachers spoken by RNZ said there were mixed views of the program.

They said some school groups were successful, but others were not, and support learning desperately needed more financing.

The ax had been hung on the program for years.

In 2019, the government then led by work put a moratorium on New Kāhui Ako while deciding what to do with them, but never made a decision.

In 2020, the Federation of the main ones requested the end of the scheme.

By 2021, the government considered expanding the scheme to enjoy more schools, but months later the Ministry of Education suggested that 3119 Kāhui Ako papers of 3119 term exhibit to avoid a $ 12 million financing cliff.

In February 2024, the then Secretary of Education Iona Holsted told the Education and Workforce Selecting Committee that the scheme was a disappointment with few successful evidence, despite the great price.

However, education experts told RNZ that the scheme would have reached more if the ministry had more actively supported school groups and given them more direction.

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