When the 2011 school year began, teachers were threatening to go on strike over pay, early-childhood education centres were grappling with funding cuts and some primary schools were refusing to implement the national standards.
The February 22 earthquake changed people's priorities and schools went into survival mode. Most schools were closed for at least three weeks while repairs were completed. Some schools were not able to reopen, and 12, including six secondary schools, ended up sharing sites.
Most of the schools returned to their original sites during the year, but five will remain at alternative premises next year. A year of unprecedented interruptions continued when the June 13 quakes hit. Heavy snow fell in August, closing schools again. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority recognised the extraordinary year and established a quake-derived grade process to minimise the impact that the quakes were having on pupils in Christchurch.
Teachers quickly settled their collective contract with the Education Ministry after acknowledging the problems being faced in Christchurch. However, teachers soon had more to worry about when the Government announced that funding for the equivalent of 167 fulltime teachers – or 4.5 per cent of the Christchurch teaching work force – would be cut from next year as 3500 pupils moved away after the quakes.
Support staff jobs were also cut and hours reduced because of a drop in roll-based funding. Pleas from unions, principals and teachers to keep funding Christchurch schools at pre-quake levels until the end of next year were denied by the education minister at the time, Anne Tolley.
She then began a consultation project to seek feedback on the future of Christchurch's education sector. The information would contribute to a draft education renewal plan scheduled to be made public for widespread community consultation in the new year.
But an intention to create charter schools in eastern and central Christchurch in the next three years was not made public until after the consultation period finished, upsetting principals. The proposal came out of the National-ACT coalition agreement and would allow private companies, iwi and community, religious or ethnic groups to compete to operate a school or start a new one.
Canterbury University was also severely affected by the February quake and has asked the Government for at least $150 million more as it expects to lose 19,400 students and $346m in revenue in the next eight years. A decision is expected from the Government in the first quarter of next year.
Staff were asked to consider taking voluntary redundancy to help ease costs. Thirty-nine sought voluntary redundancy, and 24 applications were accepted. Millions of dollars of damage was caused to the university's buildings. At least 75 out of 84 buildings have reopened and two, the Mushroom and the Siemon buildings, are being demolished. About $26m was spent building two temporary campuses to house students and staff.
The Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology also faced a drop in student numbers and had to deal with a prolonged employment contract dispute with about 200 Tertiary Education Union members, which was resolved in November after months of strikes.
The early-childhood education sector is still dealing with funding cuts, which came into effect on February 1. More changes to the way that the centres are funded has been signalled by the Government in response to this year's Early Childhood Education Taskforce report.
The first league tables detailing schools' performances against the national standards, which most schools vehemently oppose, are likely to be published next year. It will be one of many issues that new Education Minister Hekia Parata will have to tackle.