Taxpayers shell out $1.6m to lure teachers

Taxpayers have spent more than $1.6 million in grants to lure New Zealand teachers back from overseas and get foreign teachers to come here.

Most of the 145 New Zealand secondary school teachers who got the $5000 international relocation grant during the past financial year returned from England, Australia and Japan, the Education Ministry said.

They had to have been overseas for more than two terms - about five months - and be employed as a teacher when they got back for at least 20 weeks. The money is paid in instalments while they are working.

Some 292 foreign teachers, mostly from England, South Africa and Canada, got a $3000 grant when they took up high school jobs here.

One teacher was critical, saying the scheme rewarded teachers for leaving New Zealand for highly paid overseas teaching jobs, while those left behind missed out.

"I have seen quite a few young teachers footloose and fancy-free go over on their OE [overseas experience] to work or teach for six months or a year, knowing that they can get the relocation grant. It's frustrating for someone who wants to stay."

Principals Council spokesman Russell Trethewey said he had suggested to a couple of teachers that they take advantage of the grant to come back to his Palmerston North school.

"That's the purpose of it. There might be a few clever ones exploiting a loophole ... but it's much cheaper to pay $5000 to get someone to come back than to train someone from scratch."

Post Primary Teachers Association spokesman Rob Willetts said no one knew how many teachers would have come anyway, regardless of the grant.

Irene Lynch, the national manager of the ministry's teacher-recruitment division, TeachNZ, said the goal was to get teachers to come home sooner than they might otherwise have and back into classrooms, rather than into jobs outside the profession.

"The Government has made an investment in training these people. While they're offshore we're not getting any return on that investment."

The ministry did not keep information on how long teachers had been away or how many had gone back to their old jobs.

She said the uptake suggested the scheme was working to help cover shortages and fulfil a Government promise of an extra 362 secondary teachers, though it was too early to say whether high schools would again face staff shortages next year.

- NZPA

Money talking

$5000 international relocation grant - to 145 New Zealand secondary school teachers who returned from England, Australia and Japan.

$3000 grant - to 292 foreign teachers, mostly from England, South Africa and Canada, when they took up secondary school jobs here.