Teaching: ‘workload high, pay low’
A primary school teacher in her first year on the job is already considering quitting the profession if the Government does not make positive changes to the working conditions and pay scales soon.
Marnie Heng from Rowandale School in Manurewa, south Auckland, says the working conditions and wages of a teacher are ‘‘unsustainable’’. ‘‘Quitting would be something I’d consider in the next few years,’’ she says, if the situation doesn’t change.
She moved to Auckland because of the teacher shortage but is looking to move back home to ‘‘Palmerston North and living with my parents’’. ‘‘I can’t afford to live in Auckland.’’
She and another teacher moved to Auckland but ‘‘renting in Auckland on a single income is not doable, while trying to meet the commitments of the job’’.
‘‘I’m here from 7am to 7pm most days and on weekends, I work sometimes 6 to 7 hours a day, or on both days.
‘‘I have family members who are teachers and have left because it’s taken a toll on their mental and physical health.’’
Heng, who comes from a marketing background says she wants to be a teacher. And if push came to shove, she would first think of leaving Auckland, and teach elsewhere. Though switching careers is not a priority, it is not off the charts.
‘‘That doesn’t improve the need for teachers in Auckland.’’
She says a lot of other teachers find the workload is too much.
‘‘We just want to be in the classroom, teaching.’’
Similarly, Jordan Kaie from Mangere Bridge Primary School says a lot of a teacher’s time is spent in planning and administration work. He proposes only one form of assessment be required to save time. ‘‘I do think about quitting,’’ he says.
He along with his partner, who is also a teacher at the same school, have thought about leaving. ‘‘We’re getting job offers because we are quite rare – we’re bilingual and Ma¯ ori.’’
He, like Heng, says while the first option would be to leave Auckland, ‘‘if nothing happens, we’ll be forced to find new careers’’.
Primary school teachers and principals in the NZEI union voted ‘‘overwhelmingly in favour’’ of a half-day work stoppage in August, and are now discussing whether to extend the strike to a full day.
The Ministry of Education offered pay rises over three years ranging from 6.1 per cent at the top of the pay scale – making the maximum salary about $80,600 – to a 14.7 per cent rise on the entry salary of $47,980 for university trained teachers, bringing it to $55,030.