‘Better education’ in wealthy areas

Press, 12 August 1985, Page 15

‘Better education’ in wealthy areas

PA Wellington Secondary schools in wealthy areas are offering a better education than those in poor communities because they can raise more money for extra facilities, according to the Secondary School Boards’ Association.

The secretary of the association, Mr Gerry Barnard, said it would support moves to introduce special assistance for less privileged schools as a way of closing that gap.

The Minister of Education, Mr Marshall, said recently he would consider ways of targeting school funding to take into account the wealth or poverty of an area.

Mr Barnard said the types of things wealthier schools could offer included

computers, photocopiers and even superior libraries and classroom material.

At present, secondary schools receive grants, based on their roll size, to pay for administration and curricular material. Mr Barnard said, however, that an increasingly larger proportion of the grant was being spent purely on administration, meaning local fund-raising was necessary to buy extra resources and facilities.

The only special grants available were for schools with a big number of students for whom English was a second language.

While the association had no official stand on targeting grants, it would agree with the concept, Mr Barnard said.