New Zealand's first school built under a public-private partnership opened its doors to students today.

Scrapping the error-ridden Novopay system for school staff could open the door to a whole new wave of payroll disasters, says a Masterton principal.

A family who bought a home to be within a school zone discovered after the purchase that the primary school took only pupils from odd-numbered houses in the street.

School supplies bought from businesses giving kickbacks to schools can be as much as 33 per cent more expensive than the cheapest prices online.

The Ministry of Education has been locked in a two-year battle with Talent2 and nearly scrapped the flawed payroll system four months before it went live.

John Key has defended his ministers who signed off the flawed Novopay system, saying they did not receive the best advice.

The boss of the company which owns Novopay is in Auckland ahead of a planned announcement by Cabinet minister Steven Joyce about how the Government will deal with the payroll system and its string of problems.

Education Minister Hekia Parata has been blasted for calling it "karma" that staff in her own ministry had not been paid, as she faced more controversy.

Children are increasingly being asked by schools to take digital devices to their lessons, amid warnings that the trend is piling more financial pressure on parents.

The Ministry of Education recently made it tougher for students with learning disabilities to continue their studies and attain the qualifications, writes David Matthews.

The number of students being stood down for bad behaviour is at its lowest point for more than a decade.

School staff are being told to brace themselves for the worst week of problems with the Novopay payroll system.

A private investigator has begun knocking on doors across Auckland in a heightened game of cat-and-mouse pitting prominent schools against desperate parents.

There's a lot more to modern schooling than the three Rs. One Hamilton school is teaching boys the three Ts: tie tying, tyre changing and steak cooking.

The Korean parents of a Year 7 student are being billed more than $6000 by an Auckland school for helping to improve his knowledge of English.

Prime Minister John Key mounted a strong defence of Education Minister Hekia Parata today in a speech during annual Ratana celebrations.

Waikohu Ranginui is not your usual high school student.

Nine New Zealand students have aced an internationally recognised exam by scoring 100 per cent in a subject, an extremely difficult feat.

John Key's dramatic Cabinet reshuffle displays a streak of ruthlessness hitherto rarely seen in a New Zealand prime minister.