‘Enough’s enough’ for principals
A survey of 700 primary and intermediate principals has found that ‘‘dire’’ teaching situation is already affecting learning, the teachers’ union says.
The New Zealand Education Institute Te Riu Roa (NZEI) conducted an email survey of 1749 principals last week, 700 of whom responded within 24 hours.
In the survey, 90 per cent of principals said they struggled to find relievers, almost 52 per cent did not have the teaching staff they needed for the current term (62.5 per cent in deciles 1-3) and 81 per cent had teachers coming to work sick on occasion because there were no relievers available. And 46 per cent had to alter curriculum or programmes because of a shortage of teachers.
Classes also had to be split up and children shifted to different classes due to lack of relievers, release time had to be cancelled or postponed due to lack of relievers and 30 per cent of principals reported no suitable applicants for vacancies.
New Plymouth Primary Principals’ Association president Michael Carr said Taranaki had had a reasonably smooth run but was also starting to feel the pinch as teaching became a less attractive career choice.
‘‘To get support staff, and even principal release in some of our rural schools is becoming increasingly difficult.’’
He said they wanted people to want to go into middle management and principalship, but external requirements, workloads and learning and behaviour concerns, for the money they were making, was not an enticing prospect.
‘‘No one has ever gone into teaching to get rich, but sooner or later enough’s enough.’’
Primary teachers and principals will vote next week on a new offer from the Ministry of Education. Under the new deals, teachers at the top of the pay scale would earn $82,992 a year by 2020, while principals with a roll of fewer than 50 students will take home $92,976 – up from $81,553 – in addition to a $2320 leadership payment. Teaching newcomers would see their pay increase from $47,980 to $50,902 from mid-2019, and lifting to $52,429 the following year.