Teacher Council's proposal to increase Teacher certification and registration fees

Kia ora

I wrote the following letter, to my teachers, after their Paid Union Meeting (PUM) held at our school on 20th Feb 2020. 

Letter:

My concern is the proposal for a significant increase to teacher registration and certification fees by nearly double, and such an increase is rarely seen within any organisation. I acknowledge that a CPI indexed fee increase may be justified and reasonable. However, I do not believe the proposed increases are justified, and strongly dispute the view that the sector should fully fund the Teaching Council. 

Brief overview 

● Any certification fee increases as required to cover the cost of teacher registration and certification are warranted. The increase should be kept to a minimum level and aligned to actual and reasonable costs of administrative operations. 

● Teacher conduct and competence beyond the school's mandatory requirement should be centrally funded. 

● The establishment of a Leadership Centre should be funded by the state. 

● The inflexible three-year term is inappropriate for some teachers, e.g. retirement and relief teachers 

● Unreasonable increases in fees beyond a minimal level are likely to compound the already existing challenge of recruiting and retaining quality teachers. 

A key difference between the Teaching Council and other professional registration bodies is that there is a legislative framework around what the government expects from the Teaching Council. This legislative framework sits around a much broader mandate, in particular, the Education Amendment Act 2015/ 2019 and the Education Training Bill which have significantly expanded functions. Such changes are legislated and are beyond the control of teachers seeking to be registered and certificated. It is not reasonable for our teachers to fund the government's legislative change from their professional fees. 

Beyond the requirement for a school to address conduct and competency of a teacher as allowed for in the CA. Professional teacher fees should not be used to subsidise or fund the conduct and competence process, and neither should they fund a Leadership Centre, if the new Education Act legislates for the establishment of such a centre within the Teaching Council then it is the responsibility of the government and not our teachers to fund such requirements. 

The flexibility of reasonable costs should be considered; there is more flexibility in registering your motor vehicle. There is still a shortage of quality teachers, and any significant fee spike such as those proposed will only increase the critical issue of teacher supply. 

I find it unreasonable for any government to compel our teachers and professional organisation to fund educational initiatives, from our professional fees, such as the Leadership centre by using the broad brush of legislation. 

Harry Romana Principal