NZQA slashes its budget, English reveals

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) has slashed $9 million from its $79 million budget so it can balance the books, National's education spokesman Bill English said today.

He released internal documents showing NZQA was seeking immediate savings by not replacing staff, terminating fixed-term contracts when they ended and phasing out temporary and casual workers.

"If NZQA can cut its budget by 11 per cent and no one notices, then the same savings could be made in the Ministry of Education and TEC (Tertiary Education Commission) without anyone noticing," Mr English said.

"However, the revelations of large and unprecedented budget cuts will be a disappointment to the education sector which has been looking for stability and better service from NZQA."

Mr English said his documents showed acting chief executive Karen Sewell told staff this year that in the 2006/07 financial year NZQA needed to save $9 million "to balance the books, and this saving needs to be permanent".

He said the documents also revealed that $3.3 million of the deficit was due to costs incurred through dealing with "inquiries into its incompetence and bringing in a new scholarship regime after the debacle in 2004".

Education Minister Steve Maharey's office declined to comment.

Mr Maharey later said NZQA was doing a good job of managing its budget and that was what he expected them to do.

- NZPA