The charter schools advisory group wants those who have no teaching qualifications to be given official registration - a call at odds with Govt policy.

A Northland headmaster has written to John Key about his concerns over banning drug sniffer dogs from schools, saying it is "short-sighted nonsense".

Kohanga Reo National Trust wants a halt on any new policy decisions by the Education Ministry that affects it after a report found government policy had put it in crisis.

A Northland science teacher dismissed after he supported a gay rights protest at the Catholic school is considering legal action.

A handful of schools are holding out on releasing National Standards to the Minister of Education as the first round of data is made public.

Prime Minister John Key says he welcomes the debate generated by the publication of national standards data.

A snapshot of national standards results released today by Education Minister Hekia Parata suggests Maori and Pasifika students are failing in the education system.

A Northland teacher who was suspended last month after he supported a pro-gay protest at the Catholic College he taught at has lost his job.

Prime Minister John Key has defended Minister of Education Hekia Parata's handling of a sensitive proposal that involves closing and merging some Christchurch schools.

Hundreds of "battle hardened'' Cantabrians descended on the eerie half-demolished central city to voice concerns over the Government's proposed schools shake-up.

Education Minister Hekia Parata has come under fire today for creating more struggle for quake affected families bearing the brunt of proposed changes to Christchurch schools.

Emergency meetings have been held by schools groups trying to get to the bottom of yesterday's confused reveal of a shake-up of Christchurch's schools system.

The Government has been given a fail mark for its handling of a $1b education announcement for post-earthquake Christchurch today, which proposed closing 13 schools.

The Government is set to close 13 Canterbury schools and merge another 18 in an overhaul of the education sector in the area that was revealed today.

A higher birth rate and an ageing workforce mean hundreds of teachers could be needed to meet a staff shortage as school rolls surge over the next decade.

The parents of a Wairarapa high school student will be prosecuted for failing to ensure the child's attendance at school after years of ongoing truancy issues.