Slash and burn at NZQA
Hon Bill English - National Party Education Spokesman
21 June 2006
Slash and burn at NZQA
NZQA is slashing $9 million from its $79 million budget so it can recover from a large budget blowout in the past financial year, says National's Education spokesman, Bill English.
According to internal documents, acting CEO Karen Sewell told staff earlier this year that 'In the next financial year (06/07), NZQA needs to save about an additional $9 million (11 per cent of our total spending) to balance the books, and this saving needs to be permanent.'
NZQA is seeking immediate
savings by:
· Not replacing staff who have
resigned, except where appointments are essential to
maintain revenue streams.
· Terminating
fixed-term arrangements for salaried employees when
contracts finish, or sooner if possible.
·
Retaining contractors for the duration of their contracts,
but not renewing them.
· Not authorising
secondments.
· Phasing-out temporary and casual
workers.
Karen Sewell also told staff that 'long-term savings are going to require more fundamental work', and that NZQA will do a review of its core functions. Mr English says this signals substantial restructuring and redundancies.
"Two months ago the acting CEO said NZQA could fix its finances without any impact on service," says Mr English.
"That shows just how much fat there is in education agencies. If NZQA can cut its budget by 11% and no one notices, then the same savings could be made in the Ministry of Education and TEC without anyone noticing.
"However, the revelations of large and unprecedented budget cuts will be a disappointment to the education sector which has been looking for stability and better service from NZQA.
"The papers also reveal that NZQA neglected to mention in its public statements when the blowout was first revealed that $3.3 million of the deficit is due to costs incurred from dealing with inquiries into its incompetence, and bringing in a new scholarship regime after the debacle in 2004.
"NZQA will lose more credibility if it continues with misleading public statements and if Minister Steve Maharey is not open with the education sector about what is going on," says Mr English.
ENDS