Ministry of Education figures show a spike in the number of pupils home-schooling in the region, and there is debate over whether the rise can be attributed to the lockdown amid Covid-19.
Home-schooled pupil numbers in the South rose 23.1%, from 281 on July 1, 2019, to 346 on July 1 this year.
Nationwide, there had been an increase, from 6573 to 7239, over the same time frame.
Applications made to the Ministry of Education rose from five applications to home-school in the month of June 2019, to 16 at the same time this year.
Home Schooling New Zealand principal Todd Roughton said he was not surprised to hear of the increase, and said the organisation had noticed a "marked rise" in levels of interest.
In the past four months the charitable trust had gone from receiving about six inquiries of interest a week to upwards of thirty, he said.
"During lockdown all families were effectively home-schooling and they’ve realised they can actually do it themselves and now is the time to take the plunge with it.
"Families have rediscovered the meaning of family — in the modern age you often have two parents working and not spending time with their children, but with technology today you can do both at home."
Otago Primary Principals’ Association president Shelley Wilde said she did not know why there was an increase and while a 23% increase sounded high, the figures were still low.
"I certainly haven’t heard of any children, even anecdotally, who have begun home schooling recently.
"I couldn’t speculate about whether it [an increase] is because of lockdown.
"We found there to be quite high attendance in schools in Dunedin following lockdown."
Home schooling is where parents or legal guardians take responsibility for the education of their children, instead of enrolling them in school.
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Extra choice is better. Home schooling permits kids to learn at their speed. I have met a number of these kids and they are more advanced compared to their 'government' school piers in terms of knowledge and even adult inter-action (which is what public school teachers they would be deficient at). So to those parents teaching their kids- well done- you are making a great investment.
Is there any process to ensure that children are not being short-changed, that parents genuinely do "take responsibility for the education of their children, instead of enrolling them in school"? I know most do, very successfully. It's not easy, it relies on a solo parent or both parents putting in the hard yards, where both are parenting both need to be prepared to do the mahe steadily, consistently, putting the children's future ahead of avoiding inconvenience to themselves.