Categories: News

Hiring unqualified teachers “absolutely inappropriate”

A government plan to allow “trainee teachers” to “learn on the job” in schools has appalled educators, who will fight the move at an education Select Committee hearing today.

The last-minute amendment to the Education Legislation Bill would enable schools to hire an unqualified person cheaply in an unsupervised teaching role while they undertook an initial teacher training programme.

NZEI Te Riu Roa president Louise Green said no one in the education sector and certainly no parents had asked for such a move.

“As a principal, I know that taking trainees straight off the street and putting them in front of a classroom is absolutely inappropriate.  Teachers need high-quality, professional training and education to learn the skills of teaching. They need an understanding of child development and the curriculum.”

Ms Green said the move made no sense, particularly as there is already an oversupply of certificated and registered primary teachers nationally.  This includes beginning teachers – according to the Ministry of Education,  just 15 per cent of new teacher graduates are getting permanent fulltime jobs.

“The amendments appear to be wholly inconsistent with the government’s goal of lifting the status of teaching and moving towards teaching as a post-graduate profession.

“Any teacher will tell you how daunting it to teach a class just after graduating with a teaching qualification. It beggars belief that someone could hope to be an effective teacher with anything less.”

 

School News

School News is not affiliated with any government agency, body or political party. We are an independently owned, family-operated magazine.

Recent Posts

Teaching enrolments decline, renewing shortage concerns

Educators and politicians are trying to address the current teaching shortage through different policy settings.…

3 days ago

Educators farewell past union leader Melanie Webber

Melanie Webber was the president of the secondary school union PPTA Te Wehengarua from 2021…

3 days ago

Paediatric wait-times could be burdening the education system

Wait times for paediatric care is having an impact on young people’s education and the…

3 days ago

Why do we ban books in a free society?

Home of the brave, land of the free… except when it comes to books for…

3 days ago

Boys not only perform better in maths, they are also more confident about the subject than girls

Could a gender achievement gap in maths be due to confidence? Sarah Buckley from the…

3 days ago

English curriculum draft out for consultation

The much-delayed English draft curriculum is now out for consultation, generating discussion from teachers.

3 weeks ago