Labour gets teacher training priorities wrong

National Party Education spokesman Bill English says Labour is training far too many primary school teachers, many of whom have no prospect of getting a job in New Zealand.

Ministry of Education figures show that 56% of primary teaching graduates from 2000 had found work by 2004. Of those graduating in 2002 50% are yet to find work.

“Labour is spending millions training more primary teachers despite a surplus. This money would be much better spent plugging the gaps in secondary teaching where there is a considerable shortage,” says Mr English.

“New graduates tell me that outside of Auckland only about a third of new graduates can find work.

“This is just another example of Labour’s failings in tertiary education. It wastes $50 million annually on a bureaucracy to oversee the sector which can’t even make obvious and necessary decisions like directing more resource away from primary teaching and into secondary teaching.”

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