Chris Hipkins
MP for Rimutaka
Education Spokesperson

MEDIA STATEMENT

29 May 2016

Housing crisis has huge impact on education

The National Government’s failure to get on top of the housing crisis is having a major impact on the quality of education a lot of school kids are getting, Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins says.

“There are thousands of kids shifting school multiple times in a year due to over-crowding, sky-rocketing rents and unaffordable house prices. That’s having a huge impact on their education.

“The National Government often trumpet national standards data, but how is that data supposed to have any validity when some schools report up to 60 percent of the kids on their roll turnover in any given year?

“But it gets worse. Schools are now reporting difficulty recruiting teachers because they can’t find anywhere to live. The average secondary school teacher earns between $46,000 and $75,000 but the median Auckland house price is $812,000.

“Schools are now resorting to buying houses so that they can rent them at below market prices to fill vacancies. How ironic is this given the Government have been hocking off school houses for several years now claiming they don’t need them.

“The National Government continue to bury their heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge that what happens outside the classroom has a huge impact on what happens inside the classroom. Our kids deserve better,” Chris Hipkins says.

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