Teachers needed

Beverley Cooper answers desperate calls from Waikato principals every week begging her for teachers.

The University of Waikato dean of education says there aren’t enough student graduates and the government hasn’t done enough to keep new teachers.

‘‘I’ve got [principals] that ask all the time, ‘do we have anybody graduating because we desperately need somebody’,’’ Cooper said.

And the shortage means that some schools are having to look offshore for recruits.

Ministry of Education data released under the Official Information Act shows there were 69 teachers recruited from overseas to teach at New Zealand schools between January 2016 and May 2017.

Most of those positions were in high schools.

NZ Principal Association president Whetu McCormick said he wouldn’t be surprised if schools were looking overseas for teachers.

McCormick said there were 245 vacancies for teaching positions in Auckland alone.

Cooper said 145 Waikato University students are expected to graduate next year and all will be able to teach in high schools - but it’s not enough.

She also said there aren’t enough science and math graduates who want to go into teaching.