Labour Has Failed To Deal With Teacher Crisis

After nine years in power the Labour Government has failed to deal with the teacher crisis, says Alliance education spokesperson Richard Wallis.

Responding to recent claims by the Ministry of Education that schools are coping well in a tight labour market, Mr Wallis says that Education Minister Chris Carter and bureaucrats are afraid to acknowledge the real situation because it is an election year.

Mr Wallis says New Zealand's teaching workforce is in serious need of attention.

"Teachers are leaving the industry because of unrealistic workload expectations and a lack of resourcing by the ministry. We cannot expect teachers to be effective if they are drowning in paperwork and spending more and more time fundraising."

Mr Wallis says class size continues to remain a serious issue for teachers.

"The idea of having classes of 30 is a reason why people are not choosing to enter the teaching profession."

The Alliance party policy is to fund schools so that classes do not exceed 20 students in size.

Mr Wallis says this is the first important step towards making teaching a viable career option again.

"Knowing that you will not have to spend all night every night marking or preparing is important if you want to choose a career that might be a lifetime commitment for you."

ENDS

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