2020 budget: the government spends $ 813.6 million on education

The education sector was allocated $ 813.6 million in the Government’s 2020 Budget.

The Government has also set aside $ 375.1 million for grants for Early Childhood Education (ECE) centers, trade academies, and tertiary education. The money would also go toward grants for school operations.

“This will allow education providers to maintain existing levels of quality in the face of rising costs,” the Budget document said.

Priority spending has been on the school lunch program and ECE in this year’s Wellness Budget.

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Over the next two years, $ 216.7 million in operation and $ 3.9 million in capital expenditures were allocated to the school lunch program: this expansion would provide 200,000 free lunches for more children and 2,000 jobs would be available.

ECE was awarded $ 291.6 million as part of a package that would see a 3.5 percent increase in pay for qualified ECE teachers, continued funding for Kōhanga Reo to meet staff cost pressures, and additional support for educators. at home for transition to a Minimum Level 4 ECE Rating.

The package would also support the “sustainability” of the play center and fund the Early Childhood Education Provider Assessment Group to continue its role.

A package for school property had also been established, with the Government investing $ 119.5 million.

The learning support has received $ 79.7 million as the service would face increasing price and demand pressures.

The Learning Support package includes funds for English language teachers for speakers of other languages ​​and funds for the School Health Needs Fund, which offers teacher assistance for students with high health needs.

The expansion of the school lunch program was scheduled for next year.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the coronavirus pandemic had greatly affected many families, which meant that there was an urgent and growing need for support.

“The program will expand over the next year, from feeding about 8,000 students currently to around 200,000 students by Terms 2 to 3 in 2021. It will target students in the schools with the greatest disadvantage,” said Ardern.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins said $ 216.7 million in operation and $ 3.9 million in capital expenditures had been allocated in the next two years to finance the expansion.

“The expansion will build on the current phased rollout, which is on track to offer free, healthy school lunches for up to 21,000 students in years 1-8 by the end of this year.

“The scale of expansion means work is needed to prepare and scale up during Period 3, including hiring local people and building systems and processes that reduce vendor compliance costs and improve data security.”

Children’s Minister Tracey Martin said providing the lunches had a direct benefit for children and their local communities.

“This is another way to help these families and school communities at a time when every extra help is important.”

The Government has also invested $ 1.6 billion in trades and internships.

The National Party’s spokesperson for education, Nikki Kaye, said that the sector had not secured an “adequate proportion of the funds necessary for reconstruction, suggesting that the government does not see it as the center of our country’s recovery.”

“The government has failed to offer regular commercial investment, let alone an important educational infrastructure stimulus package.”