WELLINGTON, April 3 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand is seeing ongoing shortages in secondary teachers, especially those in specific regions and subject skills such as Science, Technology and Mathematics.
The shortage has been an ongoing challenge for the New Zealand education workforce, Immigration and Education Minister Erica Stanford said on Wednesday.
In announcing new measures to attract secondary teachers, the minister said secondary teachers moving to New Zealand will be put on a fast track to residency to help address workforce shortages.
In order to turn around declining levels of academic achievement, Stanford said to attract skilled teachers New Zealand must be a highly competitive destination for overseas talent so that all schools have the best people with the right experience.
The government will move secondary teachers from the Green List Work to Residence pathway to the Straight to Residence pathway, she said, adding that this change will provide increased certainty and a more streamlined, prioritized process, with eligible overseas secondary school teachers able to apply for residence from offshore, rather than needing to gain work experience in New Zealand first.
Addressing projections of continued shortages of secondary teachers in the short-to-medium term, the Ministry of Education is working to grow a sustainable domestic supply of teachers through attracting teachers back to teaching and retaining existing teachers as well as increasing the number of New Zealand trained teachers through Initial Teacher Education, Stanford said.
"Overseas teachers are a valuable part of our education system," she said, adding that the majority bring more than five years' experience.
All other teacher roles will remain on the Work to Residence Pathway. ■
