The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand is the independent professional body for schoolteachers, and like all other professional bodies such as the Medical Association or Law Society, is responsible for setting teachers’ standards, registration criteria, code of conduct, advocating for the profession and dealing with complaints and disciplinary matters.

"Education Minister Stanford now wants to remove the Teaching Council’s independence and undermine teachers’ professionalism by shifting the roles of setting standards, registration criteria and the code of conduct, to the Ministry of Education and shifting the balance of power within the Council’s membership, to ministerial appointees," said Leanne Otene, President of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF).

"This action completely undermines our teaching profession and is unprecedented political interference," said Otene.

"We are fast losing all confidence in Minister Stanford who has not consulted with us on any of her significant recent moves on curriculum, Board responsibilities for enacting Te Tiriti o Waitangi, or this latest move on the Teaching Council," she said.

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