Gregory Cook has won many awards for medical research during the past two decades, but says the one he received this week at the Otago School of Medical Sciences annual awards ceremony takes the cake.
Does the education system really need another major overhaul? David McKenzie, of Dunedin, urges a more cautious approach.
Self-managing schools should not have to stand alone, argues Dr Cathy Wylie, from the New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
More than 1000 Otago primary school teachers and principals have pledged to fight a GERM affecting the education system by signing a petition yesterday.
More than a third of primary school children are failing writing standards because they do not read enough and are confused by texting language and slang, experts say.
Many Otago schools have begun paying teachers' wages out of their own funds in the wake of the Novopay debacle, which has left many teachers and support staff without regular salary payments.
A new "Facebook-like" programme has been introduced by a Dunedin preschool so loved ones can watch and comment on a child's development.
Dunedin's position as a premier education centre is reinforced by plans for a Muslim boarding school in South Dunedin. The Christchurch-based Al-Noor Charitable Trust has bought the former St Patrick's Primary School site and hopes to host about 100 boys in years 11 to 13 from 2014.
A handful of schools are holding out on releasing National Standards to the Education Minister as the first round of data is made public.
The majority of people polled think schools should publicly release their national standards performance data.
Concern is growing among Otago principals over the increasing amount of truant pupils requiring Ministry of Education assistance to be returned to some form of meaningful education.
A $68 million administrative error by the Ministry of Education has left schools across the country concerned about how their future short-term relief staffing entitlements will be affected.
Unregistered teachers will be used in charter schools as part of a Government plan to improve the results of the worst-performing children in New Zealand.
Although international fee-paying pupil numbers remain relatively stable in Otago schools, numbers in Southland are skyrocketing.
Sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and the use of weapons appear to be on the rise in Otago schools, Ministry of Education figures released this week show.
It it difficult to disagree with the sentiments expressed by Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft in his calls for schools to try to avoid expelling or excluding troubled pupils. Speaking to an Auckland youth justice conference last week, Judge Becroft reportedly said if there were a "magic bullet" to reduce youth offending, it would be keeping young offenders in school, saying 70% of the most serious youth offenders were not in school, The New Zealand Herald reported.
Pupils at Kaikorai Valley College are looking forward to the look of times past.
Annexing spare classrooms in KingsView School and setting up temporary classrooms on site are options being explored by the Ministry of Education to tackle the enrolment-zone crisis in Remarkables Primary School.
The principals of two rural Otago secondary schools are concerned the sale of non-core school houses in their towns could jeopardise the future operations of their schools.
Despite the generally "clean" image of New Zealand's primary, intermediate and secondary education sector, an Office of the Auditor-general survey into fraud has found 8% of respondents were aware of at least one incident of fraud or corruption in their school within the past two years.
