Call for certainty for Christchurch teachers

8 June, 2011

PPTA President Robin Duff has called on the Minister of Education Anne Tolley to provide job security for secondary teachers in Canterbury.

“The central difficulty for anyone dealing with the after-effects of the quakes is uncertainty,” he said

“Schools losing pupils will be doubly hit with lower funding and potential job loses if guaranteeing minimum formula staffing (GMFS) is not frozen at the level it was before the earthquakes”.

“Funding schools at the same level would relieve pressure on secondary teachers and enable a quick and effective recovery,” he said.

PPTA President Robin Duff said secondary teachers were not only affected personally but were going the ‘extra mile’ to support their students by running extra lessons and tutorials for students.

While teachers were accepting diminished working conditions in recognition of the difficult times, PPTA are not prepared to allow this to continue indefinitely, he said.

PPTA has set up an earthquake taskforce group with assigned staff available to work with Ministry of Education officials.

ENDS

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