NZEI: Affordable housing key to solving teacher shortages

<h4 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">New government measures to increase teacher supply have addressed some concerns in the sector&comma; but housing&comma; transport and income solutions are essential for long-term results&comma; according to teachers&&num;8217&semi; union NZEI Te Riu Roa&period;<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Union president Lynda Stuart says she welcomed the government&&num;8217&semi;s interest in increasing the supply of teachers in hard-to-staff areas&comma; but said that unless it was prepared to address the true reason why some areas were hard to staff&comma; the problem would not go away&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Infrastructure such as efficient transport and affordable housing are essential to keep teachers in areas like Auckland and Queenstown&period; And unless the modest pay levels of teachers are addressed&comma; it will grow ever harder to attract and retain our best and brightest in teaching&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Teachers are also discouraged by the huge workload and administrative burden&comma; as well as the struggle of providing a full curriculum in under-resourced schools&period; These are all areas that must be addressed as part of a wider solution&comma;” said Ms Stuart&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We’ve been asking the ministry for a long-term workforce plan for many years – we can’t just pick away at this issue in a piecemeal fashion&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;