United Future leader, Hon Peter Dunne, says the appointment of an additional 350 teachers is only part of the school
staffing story.
"This welcome drop in the bucket is no more than that, but it will be barely noticed by most students and parents."
"The real problem we face, which this move does not address, is that teaching is no longer seen as an attractive career
option."
"Consequently, the profession is greying, causing a blockage at the top in terms of available senior positions, which is
forcing many capable teachers to leave in mid-career, because there are no openings for them."
"At the same time, parents can be expected to become more frustrated and angry at what they see as schools unable to
meet their children's' needs, causing a very vicious circle to develop."
"When all this is coupled with the lack of attractiveness of the teaching profession for new graduates, teaching risks
being forced into a cul de sac, which no amount of additional teaching positions will resolve, because there is no
guarantee they will be filled," Mr Dunne says.
He says what is needed is a more thorough approach to the needs of the teaching profession, with better incentives for
young people to enter it, and more attractive exit packages for older teachers who would like to move on, but presently
feel trapped within the system.
"We all keep saying that education is the key to riding the future's knowledge wave, and teachers must be at the
forefront of that."
"However, unless we lift our sights beyond the mediocre, and doing the bare minimum like this decision does, the pursuit
of the knowledge economy will become yet another farce, where we quickly show ourselves as a nation to be incapable of
keeping up with, let alone getting ahead of, the rest of the world," Mr Dunne says.
Ends