Grammar ordered to take boys back [+ audio]

John Morris

Auckland Grammar headmaster John Morris has accused the Ministry of Education of making policy on the hoof after it overturned almost half of the school's decisions to eject out-of-zone students.

The ministry has upheld the appeals of 20 students whose enrolments Auckland Grammar annulled this year for supposedly cheating the zoning laws.

It has directed the school to re-enrol them and says Grammar's hardline stance on zone cheats does not accord with the ministry's interpretation of the law.

The ministry's ruling has put it at loggerheads with Auckland Grammar, which is sending Mr Morris and board chairman Dr Robert Kirkpatrick to Wellington today to demand an explanation from Education Minister Steve Maharey.

Mr Morris said the ministry buckled under pressure from parents who were lawyers.

"We are very disappointed that they seem to be swayed by the media publicity and by the threats of parents who are lawyers, and have decided to buckle under pressure.

"Here we are trying to implement their policy and they're not supporting us, so it is a bizarre situation for us. We can't operate under this sort of policy made on the hoof. What they're now saying is it's open slather in terms of people getting into Grammar by using short-term rentals."

Ministry northern regional manager Bruce Adin said the ministry still supported the school's stance against those truly cheating the system, but it did not believe all those annulled this year had intended to abuse the system.

"In our view the way Grammar is currently interpreting the legislation is more hardline than we have had in the past."

The ministry's legal advice "puts us in a different position to what Auckland Grammar's is".

Mr Adin said the legal advice was that clear evidence was needed that the parents intended to move to the zone temporarily just to enrol their sons at Grammar.

Students were entitled to remain at the school if they left the zone subsequently.

The law allows for enrolments to be annulled if it is discovered parents used a false or "temporary" address to enrol the student.

Grammar has adopted a strict definition of "temporary" under which any student moving out of the zone during their schooling faces annulment.

Mr Morris said the ministry indicated it would uphold the board's annulment decisions in at least seven of the cases but had "changed its mind" after media coverage.

"We kept them informed totally on what our policies were and they supported us and now suddenly they've changed their minds and we don't know where we stand."

Brendan Winitana, whose Year 12 son's appeal was successful, said the decision vindicated the family from being labelled "zone cheats".

He had lived in the zone for about eight years, but the school annulled his son Ayrton's enrolment in May after he told them he had moved out of zone.

"I do agree with Mr Morris that the guidelines are very unclear and if the legislation was clearer, both parents and schools would be in a better position.

"But the heavyhandedness of the school is totally unnecessary."

Mr Morris said that if the ministry was not willing to back Grammar's enforcement of its policies it needed to provide the school with specific guidelines.

Mr Adin said the ministry had offered to put staff into the school, at least temporarily, to ensure the differing opinions did not arise again mid-way through next year.

The ministry had received 45 appeals for review and had declined 12.

A further eight were withdrawn by parents and five were being dealt with.

He said more appeals were likely from the Grammar board's decision in July to annul a further 14 students.

The ministry also had to weigh up any educational disadvantage to students being forced out of school towards the end of the year.


The school zone debate

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