Scheme to keep teachers in region falling short

PPTA chairwoman Rae Brown said some Bay educators found some subject areas so difficult to staff classes were increasingly being taken by teachers of different backgrounds. Photo / Ben Fraser

A voluntary bonding scheme for teachers had just 25 teaching graduates complete the requirements of the scheme in the Bay of Plenty since it began in 2009, while teaching shortages in some subjects are forcing several Bay of Plenty schools to use teachers trained in different areas - or drop subjects such as te reo altogether.

The Voluntary Bonding Scheme, which aimed to encourage graduates to remain in New Zealand and fill workforce shortages, has had just 25 teaching graduates complete its three-year minimum requirement in the Bay of Plenty since it began.

Participants can receive a maximum of $17,500 from the scheme - $10,500 before tax after their third year teaching and then $3500 after their fourth and fifth years of teaching. If participants have a student loan, the money will go towards paying it back.

The Bay of Plenty Times asked the Ministry of Education how many Bay of Plenty teachers failed to meet the three-year requirement but was told it was not recorded.

Ministry of Education acting deputy secretary of student achievement Lesley Hoskin said the uptake of the scheme was much lower than anticipated, as supply and demand had changed significantly.

"There has been very little movement within the workforce, vacancy levels dropped to a 10-year low in 2010, and continue to remain relatively low."

PPTA Bay of Plenty chairwoman Rae Brown said some Bay educators found subject areas, such as maths, science and te reo, so difficult to staff classes were increasingly being taken by teachers of different backgrounds, through digital learning and correspondence. In some cases, te reo was removed from the curriculum.

Ms Brown said removing subjects from the curriculum because of teaching shortages was worrying.

"In some cases, correspondence can work quite well, but Maori is very hard to learn through correspondence, so some schools are being forced to drop it."

Ms Brown believed the ministry should record how many graduates sign up for the scheme but don't see out the three years.

"They expect us to record everything and report it to them so [the ministry] should do the same. How else are we to know whether the scheme is actually working?"

Ms Brown also thought there should be more scholarships made available to teaching graduates.

"If you train in maths and science, you can get much better-paid jobs working in the field with less hours and commitment, so no wonder they don't want to go into teaching.

"If there were guaranteed jobs for graduates and more financial support from the get-go, it could attract more people."

Labour's education spokesman Chris Hipkins supported the scheme but said it should be more closely monitored.