Schools mistrust Novopay assurance

Otago school principal representatives remain distrustful about the troubled Novopay system, despite a Government support package and a review which says the system can be fixed.

The Minister Responsible for Novopay, Steven Joyce yesterday said the Deloitte technical review concluded Novopay could be fixed with greater effort from Novopay provider Talent2 and the Ministry of Education.

The review found the core software platforms were not stable because of a backlog of systems issues related to the high degree of customisation of the system, and inadequate quality assurance processes, which had allowed incorrect data to be entered. The findings of the review were being used to adjust the Novopay remediation plan, which was already under way. At the same time, the Government was boosting its efforts on a back-up plan with the previous payroll supplier Datacom, although a switch to Datacom would involve significant work to update the Datacom database from before August.

A decision on whether to persist with Novopay is due in eight weeks.

The $6 million support package is $105 per school plus $105 for each full-time equivalent teacher. This comes on top of $5 million set aside in February, part of which has funded the Backlog Clearing Unit and its 100 staff. The Government has also spent $700,000 on the technical review and a ministerial inquiry.

Otago Primary Principals' Association president Whetu Cormick welcomed the support package, but said schools were unlikely to be celebrating.

''I personally have spent hours on Novopay errors, whereas my energies should have been focused on my students and their learning needs,'' Mr Cormick said.

''No amount of extra money or support from someone in the ministry is going to make up for this.''

He said the findings of the review that a ''stable system can be achieved'' was flawed.

''Increasing errors have become apparent, with the ministry advising schools in the last 24 hours that permanent and fixed-term teachers and support staff are being terminated on April 21.

''This is just another signal that Novopay cannot deliver a quality payroll system. The sooner the minister dumps Talent2 and Novopay, the better.''

Otago Secondary Principals' Association president Melissa Bell said it was obvious there was no quick fix or magic wand.

''Mr Joyce acknowledges the high degree of customisation required by Novopay - this can hardly be surprising and really endorses the importance of ensuring that Novopay was robust before being launched.

''We acknowledge and welcome the school support package to address some of the administration issues, but remain concerned about the debt schools are carrying which is a significant, and in some cases, an unmanageable burden.''

The Post Primary Teachers Association was pleased with the payout, but president Angela Roberts said legal action seeking compensation for ''hurt and humiliation'' would continue.