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The government is considering paying principals huge bonuses - some almost $10,000 - simply for offering students NCEA.
The proposal, part of the New Zealand Secondary Principals' Council pay claims, has sparked outrage from principals offering Cambridge International Examinations, who said they would lose money for every student opting out of NCEA - but the council says such claims are unfounded.
Under a council proposal put to the Ministry of Education, principals would be given a lump sum bonus of $500, plus an extra $5 per senior student, for being accredited to offer the national qualification.
Some principals spoken to by the Herald on Sunday were uncomfortable with a link being made between NCEA and monetary gain. But Arthur Graves, head of the New Zealand Secondary Principals' Council, said members unanimously backed the claim.
He said the bonuses reflected the increasing complexity of principals' work, and rejected a story in Friday's Education Review which quoted principals of "Cambridge" schools saying they would lose money for each student that did not sit NCEA. Graves said every senior student would mean $5 for the principal regardless of whether they sat NCEA or Cambridge. The Ministry will begin negotiations on the claim next month.
