Novopay the largest botched IT implementation in New Zealand’s history just keeps on giving or not!
Leanne Gibson the manager of the Ministry’s Novopay project and chair of the Governance Board has shown that she both lacks the necessary skills and the integrity for a project of this scale. She has willingly spoken on national TV and deceived us all with vague and certainly no one in the education sector could have any faith in the ability of the Novopay Governance Board to solve in a timely manner the errors that still exist . If John Banks were a Classroom teacher he would have been sacked long ago. Perhaps the ethical standards of the National Party in government and the need for honest disclosure have been approved for use within the Ministry of Education towards teachers. But more and more it’s looking like the governments slash and burn policies on education will not leave many unscathed outside the Ministry. And in fact the government really has no policy that they can’t blame teachers or schools for, if it fails whatever it is.
Novopay is likely to continue to haunt teachers well into the future specifically those that were not employed at the time of the conversion and whose MOE histories have been lost along with their MOE Numbers and income YTD figures. Where a new MOE number has been allocated these teachers are likely to find that when they do find a new permanent or fixed term position that their first few pays (if they get them) will be a huge disappointment. As they run into the new “Salary Assessment Unit” which will pay them at the minimum rate till they are able to prove their qualifications and entitlement. It will of course back pay them at some stage for any money found due. But it raises a real question here Teachers are made to pay for their registration and classroom certificates Police vetting etc. Now this new level exists not at the request of their employer the BOT’s but at the insistence of their “Clayton’s” employer the Ministry of Education. Some teachers with years of experience could find themselves out of pocket by $1000’s of dollars while this unit deliberate on the correct salary. That both the employer and the teacher will have known from day one. I think it’s time somebody told the government that teachers are not beneficiaries they are workers and deserve to be paid correctly and on time every time. Novopay owes a very public explanation to all the teachers affect by these failures and not another demonstration of the Ministry’ willingness fudge figures and introduce spin. Teachers need to see some heads roll and some responsibility taken.
Education is filling up with secret societies the Novopay Governance Board the Salary Assessment Unit and who knows yet how many more. The secrecy smells of deceit if there’s nothing to hide why hide it. Or maybe it was just extra money for the insiders and political hacks that thought it would be easy.
I have contacted the Ministry in an attempt to find out who the people on the Novopay Governance Board are, what skills or experience they bought to the project and what they are paid for their contribution I am still waiting for a reply after a week. Although I was told by a spokesperson for the Ministry that they were treating it as an “official information request”. So I’ll just keep waiting, timely is not an approved word in the Novopay dictionary.
Mediocrity and incompetence seem to be acceptable standards internally in the Ministry of Education. If any teacher had failed students the way the Novopay Governance Board have failed teachers they would have been looking for a new career.
Novopay and the Christchurch fiasco should be enough to see the Minister Hekia Parata questioning all the advice she receives from the Ministry of Education and looking very closely at the culture and structure of the organisation. It’s time for change.
That’s a tough one indeed! I would say offer a rwerad system for doing something right. I guess it also depends on the age. There’s so much a teacher has to do already, but she could add or implement some time of etiquette club or training at her school. Suggest it to the principal or the counselors. I think that meeting with all adults involved is a good idea to put into place an action plan, but you want something that is gonna be long term and help all students not just the trouble makers, per se.