State regulations deny Catholic girl a Catholic education

Tuesday, December 13th, 2016

A Catholic student meeting all the special character requirements is on the wait list for John Paul College, Rotorua.

Maringi James, 13 is due to start her secondary education in 2017 but the school roll is at capacity.

Maringi’s mother, Lauren James is calling on the Ministry of Education to exercise some discretion about the number of students it allows into schools with a special character.

James says that on the surface she understands the Ministry of Education won’t give one school more students when a nearby school has space, however she thinks the policy needs to be flexible for special character schools.

“Parents consider these schools often specifically for their special character, in this case, that John Paul College is a Catholic school. If no other schools with space offer that element of education, there should be some flexibility,” James told the Rotorua Daily Post.

James says she likes Rotorua Girls’ High school, but wants her daughter to have a religious education.

“Our family is Catholic and regular attendees of church. Sending my daughter to a Catholic school was a way to acknowledge that upbringing,” she said.

James says giving Maringi a Catholic education is so important that the family is considering sending her to St Joseph’s Māori girls College in Greenmeadows, Hawkes Bay,

However, the St Joseph’s option as “not ideal”, saying the family prefers a local option.

Not knowing the future, James says Maringi and the family feel they are being left in Limbo.

“It is a Catch-22 situation that could end up costing us more than usual if we have to pay to go to one school and then have to sort out transfers.”