PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Education
Outstanding Teachers Deserve Better
"Paying outstanding teachers the same as their less competent colleagues is unjust," Phil Howison, Libertarianz
Education Spokesman said today, in response to recent debate about performance-based pay for teachers. "A Massey
University report shows that principals and school board members agree that performance-based pay is a good idea, and a
significant number of teachers support the idea. Another academic study suggests that the wider public is also
concerned; the unjust teacher pay scale actually reduces the status of teaching as a profession, making recruitment
harder."
Howison slammed the comments of Post Primary Teachers Association president Debbie Te Whaiti that "All teachers are
good,"citing the report by Mary Mallon and Ruth Kane, which listed "... less than effective teachers, incompetent
teachers and those who have become negative and withdrawn" as among the concerns of teaching staff. "Clearly, not all
teachers are good - otherwise no teachers would lose their jobs for incompetence. The PPTA is misrepresenting the views
of the education sector."
Another report, by Hall and Langton, finds "... strong support in the wider community... to pay outstanding teachers
more than the rest," and concludes that one factor in the perceived low status of teaching profession is the lack of
financial incentives for performance. The low status of teaching naturally leads to poor recruitment.
"Libertarianz would give control of schools back to parents and set schools free to pay teachers however they want,"
Howison concludes. "The state education system allows parents and students very little choice or competition. There
should be a free market for both teachers and schools, which would encourage increased quality of teaching and a far
more diverse range of educational options."
ENDS