The struck New Zealand education system

The New Zealand students have to face an education system which is increasingly in need of a redevelopment. As a result of the “Tomorrow’s Schools” program from 1989 the schools gained more responsibility and had to start competing with each other for finances or educational staff. Due to this competition among business-lines the differences in the education level between the schools raised and contributed to an inequality of the students’ performances.
Tests show that 25% of the poorest 15 years olds perform six times worse in maths than the 15 year olds who belong to the richest 25% of the students. Poverty is one of the risks to achieve lower education which could be compensated by a more balanced education system. Hence, the school-related factors as the quality of early childhood education or access to books and computers could be handled by the schools with a more even distribution of educational funds. Currently the governmental parties are seeking for solutions, each of them with their own approaches.