Same-sex marriage is alright. That’s the message put out by two of Australia’s elite Jesuit schools, St Ignatius’ College, Riverview and Xavier College. Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart is declining to comment on remarks made by the schools last week that seemed to support gay marriage. The Australian Bishops Commission for Catholic Education is also Read more
Leaked education funding modelling shows the way Australia’s public, Catholic and private schools may be affected by the Senate’s decision to block or support Gonski 2.0: the Turnbull government’s school funding model. The model would see a money-go-round in Australia’s education budget, with the country’s public schools getting an extra $4 billion over the next Read more
Tonga’s Women and Children Crisis Centre says it is working with the police to end corporal punishment in Tonga. Last week, a middle school teacher was charged with assault over the beating of a student who was later hospitalised for his injuries. The teacher also reportedly threatened to beat the 11-year-old’s parents if they reported Read more
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 Read more
A few months ago, I presented the following scenario to my junior English students: Your boyfriend or girlfriend has committed a felony, during which other people were badly harmed. Should you or should you not turn him or her into the police? The class immediately erupted with commentary. It was obvious, they said, that loyalty Read more
The validity of the of last years’ Tonga National Form Seven Certificate (TNFSC) examination results is being widely challenged. A leaked government report on a rushed reform of Tonga’s education system in 2015 reveals confusion and concern within the Ministry and raises questions about the validity of the examination results. It says because of the Read more
Politicians, cardinals, bishops and educationalists gathered in Wellington on April 3 to farewell Br Sir Patrick Lynch. Br Sir Patrick is leaving the New Zealand Catholic Education Office after 22 years at the helm. Speakers at the function included Education Minister Hekia Parata and Cardinal John Dew. Ms Parata praised Br Sir Patrick’s “immense contribution Read more
A former Marist Brother who was hailed as an outstanding educator in Samoa has died. Patrick Buckley, known in his early days as Br Fintan, died in Samoa in early March. Mr Buckley’s career saw him teaching primary, secondary and tertiary students in New Zealand and Samoa. He had a reputation as an innovative educator Read more
The editor of the German bishops’ website has said the Church is growing in Africa because of a lack of education and because Africans have little else. Björn Odendahl said this on Katholisch.de in an article entitled “The Romantic, Poor Church”. “Of course the Church is growing there. It grows because the people are socially dependent Read more