About 3500 pupils from Christchurch remain enrolled in schools outside the city, while more than 1500 pupils have moved to different schools within Christchurch.
Education Minister Anne Tolley said the movement of pupils away from Christchurch and within the city since February had made the redistribution of resources necessary.
She said the Government had guaranteed to keep teacher numbers at pre-February 2011 levels until the end of this year. It was also funding schools for the number of pupils the schools had before the earthquake, as well as providing funding at their new schools, she said.
"Students who have moved because of the earthquakes have not left the education system, and we are now effectively redistributing resources from one area to another, be that within the city, within the region, or within New Zealand.
"Schools in Christchurch and around the country are being sent their provisional staffing entitlements for next year, as we ensure we have the right number of teachers in the right places to meet the ongoing needs of our students."
Mrs Tolley said staffing levels directly correlated to pupil numbers and the 2012 teacher entitlements would reflect the change in enrolment patterns in the wake of the earthquake.
This means some Otago schools will receive extra funding and possibly staffing to cover the increase in pupils at their school.
However, Otago Secondary Principals' Association president Julie Anderson believed the effects would be minimal in Otago.
"Rather than increase the number of teachers or classrooms in the region, it will only be a minor effect, spread across a large number of schools.
"It may only mean one class in each school gets two or three extra pupils."
She said, at best, it would mean only a minor increase in funding, and the Government might actually be saving money on education.
The overall staffing entitlements for Christchurch schools in 2012 will be 167 less than in March 2011, but Mrs Tolley said many schools would lose only part of an entitlement, and could choose to make it up out of their operational budgets.
The ministry will now work with unions and the New Zealand School Trustees Association to provide advice and support to schools through the process.
"We will soon be announcing widespread consultation with communities and the education sector, as we plan for the decades ahead to make sure that Christchurch students get the best possible education," Mrs Tolley said.
