Education Minister Erica Stanford said this shows an ongoing resurgence of enthusiasm for the profession.
“We know the quality of the teacher is the most important thing to student success, so it’s exciting to see so many New Zealanders considering a future in education,” she said.
“We are delivering a comprehensive reform package focused on lifting academic achievement.
“We have introduced a new year-by-year, knowledge-rich and internationally benchmarked English and maths curriculum, a focus on structured literacy and structured maths, and provided schools and teachers with all the support they need in the classroom.”
Stanford said a number of international teachers are coming in to support Kiwi teachers.
“We’re seeing a small uptick as well in international enrolments, but this is predominantly driven by local people wanting to get into teaching.”
The Ministry of Education’s annual Teacher Demand and Supply Planning Projection warned schools could be short by 1250 teachers this year because of immigration-driven roll growth and increased classroom release time for teachers.
However, the schooling teacher workforce has grown recently, with 75,968 in 2024 – 2.5% more than in 2023.
Stanford said first-time domestic enrolments in Initial Teacher Education also rose by 6.3% in 2024, and the teacher retention rate remains stable at 90%.
She said incentives such as training on site for student teachers and paying them a bursary of $20,000 for their qualification had helped this trend.
Student teachers who undertake their placements at rural and isolated schools can also receive $4000.
“We are improving conditions in the classroom, creating pathways into the sector, supporting career success, and providing additional support for school leadership,” Stanford said.
“All of these will contribute to more students thriving at school and beyond.”
Stanford said it’s important to note these numbers haven’t been this strong for a long time.
“I expect them to be higher again next year as well,” she said.
“It is an extremely rewarding profession and we are a Government that’s backing our teachers with the very best learning support, very best professional learning development, and the very best resources.
“We are world-leading and we need more people to be part of this.”
Jaime Cunningham is a Christchurch-based reporter with a focus on education, social issues and general news. Cunningham joined Newstalk ZB in 2023, after working as a sports reporter at the Christchurch Star.
