Edward Simmonds

Edward Simmonds, known as ‘Ted’, was National Secretary of NZEI from 1965 to 1979, and was instrumental in seeing the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act passed into law.

He had entered Wellington Teachers’ College in 1939, aged 17, but in 1940 joined the Royal New Zealand Navy on military service. After the war, he enrolled full-time at Victoria University completing a BA, and later while teaching in Wellington schools, finished an MA that looked at educational reform in the late 19^th century. He was “released” in 1951-52 to edit the School Journal, and in 1955 was appointed assistant secretary to NZEI.  

At a time when the profession was more often actively involved in the development of education policy, he held numerous positions on government committees and groups. Notably, he urged the government to act on integration. In a joint statement with the PPTA, he said, “We believe the present Government has an historic opportunity to help the underprivileged in both state and private schools … If the Labour Government can solve the problem of state aid once and for all through integration, New Zealand society as a whole will benefit.”

The Integration Act allowed Catholic schools, in particular, to receive state funding and retain their special character. While controversial at the time, integration has helped avoid problems associated with fragmented systems and politicised funding that have undermined education in other countries.

Simmonds was a member of the UNESCO National Commission in the 1970s, and chair of its Education Sub-Commission from 1977 to 1979, when he retired. He remained active, however, contributing to an In School Support Kit for teachers and principals and writing a history of NZEI that was published during the Institute’s centenary celebrations in 1983.