Minister Responsible For Teacher Shortages
New Zealand First Education spokesperson Brian Donnelly demanded accountability from the Minister of Education Trevor
Mallard for the outrageous amount of teacher vacancies outlined in a report released today.
“The Minister has been aware of this problem for some time with the PPTA warning last year that the school year would be
started with up to 300 vacancies in secondary schools,” said Mr Donnelly.
“More than 4 out of every 10 secondary schools are under staffed with consequent overcrowding which will undoubtedly
cause an exodus of many of our more able teachers.
“Mr Mallard cannot hide behind the excuse of an expanding population. If this is the case then he should have been
prepared to put more resources into teacher training to cope with roll increases.
“Mr Mallard has not done enough to rectify this serious issue and he must give it his immediate attention. Monitoring
the situation is not good enough. Action must be taken now.
“The future of our country is at stake if we cannot provide our children with a basic education,” said Mr Donnelly.