Renewing education in the wake of the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 means focusing first and foremost on our children and young people, on their needs and aspirations

We need to ask ourselves, as we plan for renewal of education in greater Christchurch, how can we use this opportunity to address inequities and raise outcomes?

The Government is committing $1 billion to renewing and restoring the greater Christchurch schooling network over the next years. This is a great opportunity to build a modern, innovative education system that meets the needs of a changed city and anticipates future needs and demands in the context of broader decisions being made about the city.

We will be giving priority to actions that will have the greatest positive impact on learners across the network from early childhood education, through schooling, and into tertiary. We must also consider the impact on international students.

Because the costs of renewal will be considerable, aspirations will need to be tempered by a sense of what is pragmatic and realistic.

The Education Renewal Recovery Programme details specific actions that will be developed to guide the future shape of the education network in greater Christchurch including the recently established Advisory Boards tasked with guiding the process of renewal.

The Recovery Programme has been prepared jointly by the Ministry of Education  and the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC)  and is based on feedback from a wide range of sources, including 554 submissions lodged during consultation on the draft.