By John Gerritsen of RNZSchools and the Education Ministry are at odds over whether welcoming new students a day or two before other students return to class counts as an official school day. School websites show multiple secondary schools opted to started with only one or two year levels, such as Year 9 students, present on the first day or two of the school term. It said schools were only open for instruction if all year levels were learning, either on or off-site. She said the school would not count the day as an official school day and had added an extra day to the end of its year. The ministry said from this year schools were expected to record the days they were not open for instruction and the reason.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 05, 2026 08:24 UTC