NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Teens in Third World schooling

Elizabeth Binning
By Elizabeth Binning, Simon Collins and Elizabeth Binning
Senior Journalist·NZ Herald·
14 May, 2010 04:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Bone carver Sio Motuliki-Laumatia at the Crosspower Ministries education centre, which has less-than-ideal conditions. Photo / Greg Bowker
Bone carver Sio Motuliki-Laumatia at the Crosspower Ministries education centre, which has less-than-ideal conditions. Photo / Greg Bowker

Bone carver Sio Motuliki-Laumatia at the Crosspower Ministries education centre, which has less-than-ideal conditions. Photo / Greg Bowker

New Zealand's neediest young people are missing out on education - and the consequences could hurt everyone. We report in the first of a five-part series

New Zealand's neediest young teenagers are often being educated in "Third World" conditions without trained teachers, textbooks or standard school services.

A Weekend Herald investigation has found that only a handful of the 260 tutors in the country's 163 "alternative education" centres have teaching qualifications because the sector's budget - frozen for a decade - has fallen far behind teachers' salaries and other costs.

Yet most of the 1820 youngsters aged 13 to 15 who attend the centres come from the country's poorest and most troubled families, often coping with drug and alcohol addictions, domestic violence, gang connections and frequent moves.

Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft says their tutors are "the community's most important frontline warriors in the fight against youth crime".

Auckland University youth health researcher Terry Fleming, who has visited about 20 of the centres, says most are ill equipped, with few textbooks or sometimes no computers.

"Most of the time they've taken over buildings which wouldn't have been used because they're cold and uninsulated, don't have decent chairs and there aren't any Biros," she said.

"It's the kind of thing you might see an appeal for raising money for Third World countries overseas.

"If we were to say to the parent of a New Zealand teenager: 'Would you like your kid to go to a school with no sporting facilities, no technology resources, no computer resources, no library, and actually we haven't got very many textbooks and it's really cold so they'd better bring a jumper - how's that?"'

Conditions in the centres vary widely.

At one extreme, Youthline employs a fulltime qualified teacher for 12 students downstairs at its Auckland head office. Her salary is paid by the Lion Foundation out of poker machine profits.

But Crosspower Ministries in Otara runs its centre for 14 students in a disused community centre with no computers and has been unsuccessfully lobbying the Manukau City Council for three years to fix a gaping hole in the verandah floor.

Charitable trust Te Ara Poutama teaches 28 students in a vacant clothing factory which has barely changed since the clothing company moved out, because alternative education has no guaranteed funding after this year.

The Ministry of Education recommended last year that the current system be "disestablished" and replaced by "new models that support better outcomes for young people".

But it backed off after a consultation with school principals found 65 per cent opposed reallocating the funding to each school on a per-student basis. Education Minister Anne Tolley is now considering other options.

Judge Becroft says mainstream schools are "not resourced to deal with the extreme end of conduct disorder or alcohol and drug dependency".

"Effectively we have a parallel alternative system," he said. "If we are going to have a parallel system, then they've both got to be A-plus.

"When you visit some of the alternative education centres, it looks like an A system and a C system.

"That just can't be right for our toughest kids."

SEEKING ANSWERS

Saturday: Alternative education.
Teens in Third World schooling
When the mainstream model doesn't fit
A far better alternative to dropping out
Monday: Truancy and dropouts.
School dropout levels fall over past 10 years
Tuesday: Issues of transience.
Message sinking in: switching schools bad for kids
Absenteeism often cry for help
Transient students struggle to catch up
Wednesday: Who kicks kids out?
Second chance works well for student
Expulsion seen as tool of last resort
Aorere strives to improve record
Thursday: What can be done?
Help for those who fall through cracks
Trust moves in well before students get out of control
Schools can't do it all on their own

Discover more

New Zealand|education

A far better alternative to dropping out

14 May 04:00 PM
New Zealand|education

When the mainstream model doesn't fit

14 May 04:00 PM
New Zealand|education

Second chance works well for student

18 May 04:00 PM
New Zealand|education

Aorere strives to improve record

18 May 04:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Fake doctor who provided bogus NZ degree ordered to pay back thousands

04 Jun 09:49 PM
New Zealand

School's shearing and woolhandling contest a hit

04 Jun 09:26 PM
New Zealand

Person seriously injured in crash between car and cyclist in Northcote, Auckland

04 Jun 09:22 PM

‘No regrets’ for Rotorua Retiree

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
School's shearing and woolhandling contest a hit
The Country

School's shearing and woolhandling contest a hit

04 Jun 09:26 PM
The jobs that had the fastest salary growth in the past year
Business

The jobs that had the fastest salary growth in the past year

04 Jun 09:23 PM
Person seriously injured in crash between car and cyclist in Northcote, Auckland
New Zealand

Person seriously injured in crash between car and cyclist in Northcote, Auckland

04 Jun 09:22 PM
Will Stuff staff share in CEO's big payday? NZME's new chair opens up
Media Insider

Will Stuff staff share in CEO's big payday? NZME's new chair opens up

04 Jun 09:17 PM
NZ Herald comments: The stories open for discussion today
New Zealand

NZ Herald comments: The stories open for discussion today

04 Jun 09:10 PM

Latest from New Zealand

How two young scammers used air fryers to swindle $60k from ATMs, parking machines

How two young scammers used air fryers to swindle $60k from ATMs, parking machines

04 Jun 09:54 PM

The pair targeted ATMs and parking machines, stealing more than $60,000.

Premium
Auckland film-maker jailed for child sex abuse material, industry in shock

Auckland film-maker jailed for child sex abuse material, industry in shock

04 Jun 09:53 PM
Fake doctor who provided bogus NZ degree ordered to pay back thousands

Fake doctor who provided bogus NZ degree ordered to pay back thousands

04 Jun 09:49 PM
School's shearing and woolhandling contest a hit

School's shearing and woolhandling contest a hit

04 Jun 09:26 PM
Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design
sponsored

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search