Hon Bill English
National Party Education Spokesman
14 July 2006
35,000 students miss out on numeracy
Parents will be alarmed to find out that more than one thousand registered primary teachers are not effective at
mathematics, says National Party Education spokesman Bill English.
He is commenting on the release today of a report from the Education Review Office which shows that one in 10 primary
teachers struggle with ‘good quality of teaching of mathematics’.
The teachers’ registration board says it will not let a teacher in the classroom without the right qualification and
only after they have obtained registration.
But according to ERO, one in 10 teachers can't do the job when it comes to maths.
Mr English says these teachers will be responsible for fundamental development of numeracy skills of about 35,000
children.
“Who’s right - ERO or the teachers’registration board?
“If 35,000 children are missing out, parents deserve an explanation.
“Whoever's fault it is, the Ministry of Education should identify and retrain these teachers. Current efforts lack
urgency and aren't targeted at ineffective teachers.
“Government policy is to wait and hope but if they wait another year, another 35,000 will suffer the consequences of low
standards in the classroom,” says Mr English.
ENDS