About 30 boys are being pulled out of class and made to sit in the school hall while staff at Whangarei Boys' High School chase up outstanding fees.

Thousands of Kiwi parents have a new shopping dilemma this year - they will need to buy a tablet or other digital device for their child, writes Diana Clement.

Education Minister Hekia Parata said this morning members of the wider education profession would play a key role in further developing school leadership initiative.

A "free" state education in NZ will cost the average parent nearly $35,000 by the time their child finishes secondary school, a survey claims.

The leadership of New Zealand schools has been overhauled, with the Government creating new roles including 'executive principals' and 'expert teachers'. The change was announced today by Prime Minister John Key in a state of the nation-style speech in Auckland

A student learning expert has suggested a top-level review of the schooling system after international testing showed 15-year-olds had slipped in maths, science and reading.

PISA envy is rife at the moment as we find NZ has slipped. This should be a shot of reality and force us not to be complacent with the status quo.

Should we worry about our ranking? No, not per se, writes Dr Fiona Ell. Focusing on one number, one position in the race, who our neighbours on the list are is missing the point.

New international test results in reading, science and maths show that Australian education is going backwards - a declining trend that has been going on for the past decade, writes Dr Sue Thomson.

New Zealand educational achievement has dropped significantly in the core subjects of science, maths and reading, according to a OECD report.

Education Minister Hekia Parata is preparing for an embarrassing drop in New Zealand's education rankings in an international survey next week.

Primary and intermediate school teachers are being overworked and some subjects are prioritised at the expense of others, says a study into National Standards.

The Government is providing $10.5 million in extra school funding to improve student achievement in maths and science.

Teachers of students as young as 5 will soon have access to new sexuality education guidelines addressing issues such as identity and relationships.

New Zealand's school curriculum has been hollowed out of knowledge as academic learning is increasingly abandoned for a misguided focus on skills and the process of learning, an academic claims.

Of the kids who start at Takanini School each year, only 20 per cent have had early childhood education experience.

Contrary to the claims of your columnist Rodney Hide last weekend, the self-described anti-theist, I don't believe prayer to be hocus-pocus.

When Tristan Cosio started school a fortnight ago he was ready and prepped. New school bag? Yes. New lunch box? You bet. Ministry of Health B4 School Check? No.

Primary school students spend nearly an hour each night doing homework, a national survey says, but some parents and teachers question the value of after-school study.

Acting Secretary for Education Peter Hughes has been appointed head of the Ministry of Education.

A pay deal has been signed between the union representing primary and intermediate teachers and the Govt to introduce an allowance for 800 expert teachers worth $4 million.

The report plans for the creation of a "Finishing School for New Zealand Political Aspirants - the Cabbage Boat Academy", writes Toby Manhire.