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Education

Rising costs push standardisation in NZ schools

By Kelly Ng | 17 November 2009

Increasing IT costs have become a huge driver for standardising the IT operating environment across schools in New Zealand, a survey last week has shown.

Of the 972 primary and secondary schools which responded, close to 75 per cent favoured the centralised procurement of computers and other ICT equipment, server infrastructure, technical support, software licensing and broadband access.

Schools have traditionally been run independently. While the government provides funds, decisions on IT were solely made by each school board. “Principals, teachers, parents and the communities appreciated the autonomy. But escalating costs have forced schools to weigh the benefits of this freedom,” Laurence Zwimpfer, Contracts Director, 2020 Communications Trust told FutureGov.

The government apportions two per cent of the grant to IT and the rest to property, electricity, water, insurance and so on. In reality, IT accounts for 10 per cent of the total operating budget for most schools. In total, the sector spends over NZ$410 million (US$304 million) on IT every year.

Singapore and Australia have gone down the path of IT consolidation. The reasons for centralisation – manageability and an improved learning experience – which drove these two countries apply to New Zealand too.

“Schools want teachers to focus on teaching and not spend time worrying about their IT infrastructure, where to get technical support or how to pay for it. It is inefficient to make schools decide on things they know very little about,” he added.

The large number of computers in New Zealand schools makes it even more important for centralised management. Campuses have a good computer to student ratio – with one computer for every four primary students and one for every three secondary students.

“New Zealand is often not the first to do things in the world. But we would like to be a very close second,” Zwimpfer concluded.

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