Budget 2022: It is targeting many key issues in the Education Sector

Tai Tokerau Principals' Association president Pat Newman is pleased with the Budget announcement yesterday. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Budget 2022 brings nearly $3 billion to New Zealand's education sector and a Northland principal quips all of it should come straight into the region.

Tai Tokerau Principals' Association president Pat Newman is pleased with the Budget announcement yesterday and says it addresses a lot of key problems.

"For education, $3b is going to be a lot better than nothing and it is targeting some of the right areas."

Newman was especially keen on the scrapping of the outdated school decile system, which would now be replaced by a new equity index.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced almost $300 million to go towards implementing the new system.

"It looks like it is addressing quite a lot of problems but it is still uncertain how much will come up here."

Newman said the money going into other sectors would also be beneficial to children.

"The budgeting to improve the mental health wellbeing of kids will have a positive impact on schools, even though it is going to the Ministry of Health.

"Some of the social changes will also have an impact on Northland's education sector, such as the reforms around the cost of living."

The frontline support for schools was another new initiative and would benefit the principals and education leaders across the country.

"We have been working on that concept for a long time and I am very happy that it has finally happened."

However, the principal worried about whether the funding would come with a manual on how and where to spend.

"We need to make sure that what we [Northland] want is what we are getting funded for."

The 48 leadership advisers would help principals do their jobs and if they were able to do their jobs, that was going to help teachers and kids, Newman said.

The breakdown

Budget 2022 will bring $2 billion in operating expenditure and $845 million in capital expenditure to the education sector.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins said the funding will deliver greater support to both education providers and learners.

Key points

• Fairer equity funding system to replace school deciles: Almost $300m is being provided to implement a new equity index to replace the decile funding system. This includes $75m per year in additional equity funding for schools with higher levels of socioeconomic need.

• Pay parity in early learning: $266m in operating funding over four years in Budget 2022 builds on the $170m provided through Budget 2021 to help deliver pay parity and $151m through Budget 2020 provided for improving teacher pay.

• Frontline support for schools: $22.3m over four years will fund the first leadership adviser positions.

• A unified funding system to underpin the reform of vocational education: $266.9m over four years for a 2.75 per cent increase for tertiary tuition and training subsidies. Funding of $112.7m ($40m of which is from existing baselines) is also being made available to increase funding for enrolments.

• Boost for schools and early learning centres to help with the cost of delivery: A further 2.75 per cent increase in funding rates in early learning services and a 2.75 per cent increase in schools' operational grants. Over the next four years, this totals an additional $231.8m going into early learning and $184.4m going into schools and kura.