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Source: ONE News -
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Concerns have been raised over the quality of New Zealand's teaching graduates.
Patrick Walsh of the Secondary Principals' Association says some principals are so concerned, they are recruiting for teachers overseas.
"The issue for us, of course, is that a teacher who's not up to the mark, and they enter classrooms, can cause substantial damage," he says.
The Teachers Council, which is in charge of registering teachers and approving New Zealand's 49 teacher education courses, has gathered with industry experts in Wellington to toughen up on the people who teach our teachers.
Director Peter Lind says many of the concerns are around entry into teacher education programmes and there is a need to look very carefully at the current entry standards across the board.
Lind told TVNZ News at 8 that the literacy capabilities of some students are not sufficient for teaching literacy appropriately. He says while the problem isn't acute, the council wants to make sure there is total confidence from the profession that they are employing people well equipped to handle the demands of teaching.
He says currently each of the providers sets their own standards and the council wants to put benchmarks in place.
Lind believes it is crucial for every applicant to be interviewed because "that way you can tell whether they have the professional attributes required". He says there was a period of time, particularly during the 90s, when an acute shortage of primary teachers along with a proliferation of providers "allowed that slippage to occur".
The proposed changes include tougher entry requirements to teaching courses; more experience for student teachers in the classroom; and more assessments during those sessions.
But teacher educators such as Dugald Scott from Victoria University say there is not enough evidence to suggest the changes will help, and that they will just increase financial pressures.
"You can only increase fees to cover normal cost of increases," Scott says. "You'd have to reduce the services available to students in some areas and save your costs elsewhere."
The new guidelines for providers will be in place by the end of the year.
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