Schools to send students home

By ALAN PERROTT education reporter

Senior secondary school students will be regularly sent home early or left unsupervised next year as principals struggle to meet the requirements of the latest collective contract for teachers.

Schools are grappling with organising next year's timetables to give teachers the stipulated time out of the classroom.

Mt Albert Grammar plans to allow Year 13 students to leave school at 2.20pm three times a week to help provide teachers with the non-contact hours required.

Several other schools, including Pakuranga College, are considering leaving some classes unsupervised during study breaks.

The teachers' employment contract requires schools to allow each teacher four non-teaching hours a week.

Principals who are unwilling to adopt Mt Albert Grammar's solution, and cannot afford to hire extra staff, may be forced to increase class sizes or reduce courses.

Paul Ferris, president of the Secondary Principals Association, said the contract was stretching already-stressed budgets.

"We said this was a can of worms when the minister signed it. Now schools throughout the country have three choices: increase class sizes; reduce course options; or try and pay for it yourself."

Brent Lewis, principal of Avondale College, described the non-contact agreement as a "hospital pass" for schools, which were forced to meet requirements they had no hand in deciding.

"Principals talk to each other and they are asking what can they do to deal with this," he said.

If schools were forced to employ extra staff, the Government should provide the funds to pay them. Courses were being reviewed to find subjects that could be cancelled.

Pakuranga College principal Bali Haque is proposing some cuts in teaching time, but hopes to pay for extra staff by enrolling more foreign fee-paying students.

He said the school would be 3.5 teachers short because of the requirements and could face a bill of more than $190,000 to hire extra staff.

"I am outraged that the Government agreed to this situation but haven't financed it," Mr Haque said.

He was already worried about 2005, when schools must "endeavour" to raise the non-contact provision to five hours a week.

While the Government has provided schools with assistance to cover the additional down-time, Mt Albert Grammar principal Greg Taylor claimed the non-contact provision would leave his staff of 120 about five teachers short.

He said reorganising the timetable for Year 13 classes would free about 75 periods as non-contact time.

The students would have the option of going home early or remaining at school to study.

The Post Primary Teachers' Association, which negotiated the contract, believes most schools could find the non-contact time by revising their daily routines.

President Phil Smith said: "A whole lot of time sitting in school is being sucked up by requiring various people to do various administrative jobs.

"For some principals the inevitable response is, 'We're not changing anything and we can't deliver the staffing'. There has to be more creative solutions to this."

Mr Smith said the non-contact provision was vital for the education sector, which was struggling to retain teachers because of overwork and stress.

Education Minister Trevor Mallard, told by the Herald what the schools planned, said he was surprised to hear of it and said findings did not indicate the response was widespread.

He had talked to principals at the time the policy was introduced and, as a result, "my expectation was that schools could manage this within existing staffing".

This took into account extra teacher positions over the past three years and another 300 to be provided from next year - over and above the numbers required for roll growth.

"What's more, when the policy was decided, principals were supportive of introducing the non-contact time."

Mr Mallard said the Government had flown 24 secondary teacher graduates to Auckland for interviews to fill staffing gaps.

Non-contact time

* Phrase for the time teachers spend at school but away from students.

* There are no stipulations on what teachers should do during that time, but most spend it working.

* Teachers say they need the time to reduce stress and workload.

* Non-contact time does not include lunch breaks.

* Some teachers complain of getting less than one hour a day non-contact.