The number of people applying for teaching jobs in the secondary sector has dropped to worrying levels, the Post Primary Teachers' Association says.
Secondary Principals Council chair Graeme Macaan said a recent survey completed by 44 per cent of the country's schools showed three-quarters of the advertised jobsallowed no choice of candidate with either none or just one person applying for the position.
Mr Macaan said the sector had no problem recruiting overseas-trained teachers, as their numbers had remained the same over recent years, but the number of New Zealand-trained applicants had dropped dramatically.
"The problem is the Ministry (of Education) has no realistic strategy for recruiting New Zealand teachers."
Mr Macaan said secondary schools were failing to attract specialist teachers. "There has been a serious shortage of teachers in subjects like technology for a while, but now we are looking at shortages in areas like science, maths and English.
"Recruitment is rapidly becoming one of the most frustrating parts of a principal's job."
Mr Macaan believed people would be tempted into the sector if they were paid market rates, which were $10,000 above current levels. "Something needs to happen to help fix the situation before we get to the point where there is nobody who wants to teach in our secondary schools."
