Push to scrap Teaching Council fees stoke controversy

Teaching Council CE Lesley Hoskin had confirmed: “The fee is doubling to $157 every year starting February 2021. This equates to $3 per week, an increase of $1.60 per week to what teachers are already paying.”

The backlash has been substantial, with teachers making a vote of no confidence in the council this week.

Post Primary Teachers’ Association president, Jack Boyle, has declined to comment on the vote until he had discussed the matter with his staff. However, he did inform RNZ that the no-confidence ballot followed the council’s announcement on Budget day that its fees would rise. 

The union is calling for key resignations from the Teaching Council, following the vote. 

The fee hike was instigated following news the government would be cutting funding, which previously accounted for around 60 percent of the council’s expenses. 

The New Zealand National Party has jumped on the bandwagon, claiming it would scrap teacher registration fees altogether and fund the Teaching Council directly. National’s Education spokesperson Nikki Kaye said:

“New Zealand has had long-standing teacher supply and retention issues. This is a small way that we can reduce costs for teachers and is one of a number of policies National intends to implement to reinforce the value of educators in our society,” Ms Kaye says. A National Government would get rid of teacher registration fees and instead pay the Teaching Council directly on an ongoing basis, which will initially be around $16 million a year.”