Hefty hike for teachers’ fees to Education Council

Teachers across New Zealand are being urged to feedback on a proposal to hike the cost of practising certificate fees from $73 a year to $170.

“We want to give teachers every opportunity to have their say about the changes we’re proposing to make to the fee structure, including those for practising certificates,” says Education Council chief executive Dr Graham Stoop.

“We have prepared a detailed consultation document to help inform this conversation with the profession, and we’ve worked closely with Deloitte to be sure our financial modelling is robust.”

The Education Council is funded by teachers’ fees. The fees teachers pay to the council have remained the same since 2010, and the council says they do not reflect the services it provides to the profession.

The council has been given government transition funding but must become self-sufficient from July, 2019. Without an increase in fees, the council will face a $9.595 million annual shortfall from that date.

“That paints a simple picture of why we’re proposing to change fees,” says Dr Stoop.

Under the proposals, the fee for renewing a teacher’s practising certificate will rise from an annualised figure of $73 to an annualised figure of $170. This amount has been calculated after modelling from Deloitte.

The Education Council will also consult on a regular CPI-linked increase to the fee.

Feedback collected during the consultation will be passed to the Education Council Board for its decision. 

“Teachers help shape our future society every day in the classroom – this consultation is their chance to shape their profession for the future, too. I encourage all 101,000 of them to share their thoughts with us.”

The fees consultation webpage can be found here