By John Gerritsen of RNZA Ministry of Education error nearly cut the 2027 school year short by a single day. An Education Ministry document supplied to RNZ under the Official Information Act said schools were supposed to be open for at least 380 "half-days" each year. "An error has been identified in the 2027 Term 2 half-day counts, caused by the 2027 Matariki holiday being excluded from the calculations. It said the ministry would alert schools through its School Bulletin and publish a new notice setting the 2027 and 2028 school term dates in the official government journal, the New Zealand Gazette. The New Zealand Gazette published the revised term dates on October 16, 2025 and the ministry updated the term dates listed on its website.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 18, 2026 21:15 UTC