SCOTT KENNEDY: Persecuted, Underfunded -and Still Winning

Over the last few weeks, Stuff has published articles targeting KingsWay School, a state-integrated Christian school north of Auckland. The catalyst? An ongoing investigation into a teacher accused of assault. But rather than simply reporting on the facts of that case, an investigation that is still ongoing and, at this point, light on confirmed facts, Stuff has used this investigation as a pretext to fire another

shot at Christian schools by airing a range of grievances from alleged former students, many of them anonymous, zeroing in on the school’s traditional Christian teaching about sexuality, gender, and sin.

What’s interesting is this: almost every week we read of a registered teacher being disciplined or deregistered for serious misconduct—often sexual in nature—and yet we don’t see major investigative pieces accusing public schools of systemic failure. We don’t see breathless exposés of the culture in state schools. But when this occurs in a Christian school holding to traditional sexual ethics—the very values that underpinned our civilization—it’s treated differently. It becomes an opportunity not just to scrutinize the conduct of one teacher, but to discredit the entire institution and

its beliefs.

Obviously, if misconduct has occurred, it should be investigated thoroughly and dealt with appropriately. But that’s not what this is really about. Stuff is once again demonstrating its anti- Christian bias. This is a hit piece—not just against a school, but against the Christian worldview.

But why are Christian schools so often the target of this kind of media hostility? It’s because they challenge the moral orthodoxy of the regnant secular establishment that dominates not just our public education system but our media and political class who use public institutions — including schools — to preach and reinforce their liberal secular gospel. That’s why there’s no outrage when a state school teaches progressive ideas on gender or sexuality, but there is when a Christian school teaches biblical truth.

And here’s the injustice: Christian families are forced to fund this secular system through their taxes, while being told their own beliefs disqualify their schools from equal funding. The very worldview that gets Christian schools targeted in the press is the same one used to justify keeping them under- resourced.

For Christians and other conservative or traditional groups this raises a deeper question: if the government is going to fund education, why should only secular schools qualify? Why should parents be forced to pay taxes that fund schools actively undermining their beliefs—while their own schools are treated as unworthy of support? This is a double standard, and it’s baked into the system. It assumes that secularism is neutral and traditional worldviews like Christianity are dangerous. That

state schools teach facts, while Christian schools indoctrinate. That progressive worldviews are universal, while Christian or traditional ones are divisive.

But let’s be honest: every school teaches a worldview. All education is indoctrination into some way or other of seeing the world. Many public schools increasingly promote a form of secular humanism, where truth is personal, morality is self-defined, and identity is fluid. These are not neutral claims. They are deeply religious claims—about what it means to be human, what is good, and what kind of society we should build.

By contrast, Christian schools teach that children are made in the image of God. That they are not self-created, but divinely created and find their purpose and meaning in living under God’s benevolent rule. That the purpose of education is not simply material success, but wisdom, character, and worship. These beliefs are explicit, open, and consistent with the convictions of the families who choose them. And that’s what families do – they choose these schools despite the cost because they do not want what the state offers.

Education is never truly neutral. It will always be shaped by whoever holds the cultural power— whether that’s activist groups, ideological bureaucrats, or an anxious political majority.

Right now in New Zealand, that means government-funded schools are under pressure from what some now refer to as the ‘Alphabet Cult’—a loosely defined but zealous activist movement pushing an ever-expanding moral agenda. Groups like InsideOUT have received government money and have had huge influence in shaping the New Zealand Relationships and Sexuality Education curriculum. I regularly have conversations with conservative parents seeking to flee the public system and get

themselves on our waiting list primarily because they are outraged at the gender identity and sexuality propaganda being foisted on their children. They feel sidelined—treated as obstacles to progress in the education of their own children.

So what happens when those parents choose a Christian school that reflects their values? Suddenly, that’s the scandal. Suddenly, they’re the problem. This is why government-run education is so fraught. It becomes a battleground of worldviews. And in a modern diverse society this is neither just nor inclusive. We should not force all parents to fund only one moral vision while punishing others.

The solution is simple: give parents real choice. Let them direct their own educational dollars. Let them choose schools that align with their values—Christian, secular, or otherwise. Because here’s the truth: if all families were required to pay for education—and there was no “free” state monopoly— a significant number wouldn’t choose the secular system at all. They’d walk. They’d send their children to schools where values are clear, discipline is upheld, and truth is taught without apology.

Here’s the irony. Despite running on less funding and competing against a near government monopoly in education, Christian schools regularly outperform public schools on academic measures like NCEA Level 3 and University Entrance. At the school I am privileged to serve, Manukau Christian School, we’ve had students from a wide range of faith backgrounds—not just Christian families— because parents are looking for results, structure, and substance. Since first having a full high Year 9-

13 high school in 2019, we’ve had a 100% University Entrance rate three times. Families come to us not just for the doctrine—but because Christian education works.

Christian schools don’t thrive because they’re propped up by the state. In fact, they succeed in spite of the funding gap. Now imagine what would happen if that gap were removed—if every family had the freedom and means to choose the kind of education that actually reflects their convictions. The uncomfortable truth for critics of Christian schools is that many of their pet ideologies now embedded in the public system simply wouldn’t survive without coercive, taxpayer-funded support. If parents actually had to choose—if they weren’t forced to fund schools pushing values they don’t

believe in—many of these secular approaches would die a quiet death in the free marketplace of ideas. They don’t work. That’s why they need to be forcibly subsidized.

Meanwhile, Christian education would continue to flourish because it’s rooted in reality. It aligns with how God made the world, and how children grow best. And the fruit speaks for itself—in grounded, confident young people equipped with wisdom, resilience, and moral clarity. But what of the fruit from the lavishly funded state schools? Rapidly falling literacy and numeracy standards. Rising mental

health issues. Growing disengagement. A generation unmoored from meaning.

And we’re paying for that?

Scott Kennedy is Principal of Manukau Christian School in Manurewa

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