Education
The first Catholic School in New Zealand was opened in 1840, the year the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, at Kororareka and was called St Peter's School. Initially Catholic missionaries, led by Bishop Pompallier, focused on schools for Māori. It was therefore Catholic laymen who in 1841 established a school for the sons of settlers. This school was Auckland's first school of any sort. In 1877, the new central government passed a secular Education Act and the Church decided to establish its own network of schools. The system expanded rapidly. All Catholic schools are now integrated into the State system of education under the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975. This means that all the operating costs of the schools are met by the Government of New Zealand, although the site and buildings continue to be owned by the local bishop or a religious order
In 2010, there were 190 Catholic primary schools in New Zealand and 49 secondary schools. Around 64,000 students were enrolled in 2008, or 11 percent of all students in the New Zealand school system. Academically, the schools do very well. Between 1994 and 2010, the rolls in Catholic schools increased by almost 22 percent. The New Zealand Catholic Education Office assists in the running of Catholic schools in New Zealand.
Read more about this topic: Roman Catholicism In New Zealand
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