Minister hides South Auckland teacher crisis

new-zealand-national-party

Tue Sep 18 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Minister hides South Auckland teacher crisis

Tuesday, 18 September 2007, 11:34 am
Press Release: New Zealand National Party

Katherine Rich MP National Party Education Spokeswoman

18 September 2007

Steve Maharey's blithe assurances that while teacher numbers are tight there is nothing to worry about, are coming back to haunt him, says National's Education spokeswoman, Katherine Rich.

The Principals Federation says the situation is so bad in South Auckland that some children get a different relieving teacher every day, and the Auckland Primary Principals Association says some schools can't even find a teacher to fill in.

"I specifically requested, through the Official Information Act, papers on the teacher shortage in regions, including South Auckland, from the Ministry of Education in August - they refused to release the numbers.

"So much for Ministry of Education Chief Executive Karen Sewel's intentions to run an 'open and transparent Ministry'.

"This crisis has been brewing for years and Steve Maharey has done nothing but deflect direct questions and offer patronising platitudes.

"The teacher shortage is only going to get worse over the next year, with predictions that an extra 270 teachers will be needed in Auckland to lower the Year 1 teacher/student ratios.

"This situation is already causing alarm about the quality of teaching being offered in some schools, with pupils seeing a continual stream of different teachers or, even worse, no dedicated class teacher at all.

"It's time for Steve Maharey to start telling the truth about the extent of the shortage and take responsibility for the crisis."

ENDS

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