"Retired Tauranga principal Peter Malcolm visits schools as a consultant.
Travelling between decile two and decile 10 schools, he says, "you
would think you had gone from one country to another"."
"When it comes to tertiary education, Malcolm graduated without debt,
thanks to plentiful holiday work, and got a well-paid job. Now students
pay fees and leave with debts, making further study much harder for the
poor.
"Life is much tougher these days," he reckons, "and if you come from a
wealthy family with the resources and networks, you're going to find
those challenges much easier."
Harding mentions the school decile system and enrolment schemes,
the debate around asking children to supply their own tablet computer,
and the costs of school camps and concludes "we're more stretched out
now".
"When I ask South Auckland principals to tell me their biggest challenge, it is poverty that springs to their lips first."
Are some of us more equal than others?
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