Yes Minister strikes again

Many will recall the Yes Minister episode about a hospital with no patients. Well read this story in Stuff on Tuturumuri School.

• annual operating costs $250,000
• part-time caretaker
• release teacher
• part-time office administrator

The only problem is there are no pupils!

New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) vice-president Rikki Sheterline said the situation in Tuturumuri was not unusual. “I’ve known of cases before where schools have gone down to no students then gone back up again.”

Rural schools were in decline generally, with a couple closing annually.

Sheterline, who spent 37 years in rural schools, said the union’s  position was that all schools should have two full-time employees, to deal with the workload and ensure the safety of children.

So NZEI says that even a school with no students should have at least two full-time employees!