Universities warn against under-funding of teacher training

Universities in New Zealand are warning that the under-funding of secondary school teacher education is critical. They say Victoria University of Wellington’s shock proposal to cease its one-year programmes for aspiring secondary teachers at the end of the year is the result of a long-standing lack of support, write John Gerritsen and Soumya Bhamidipati for RNZ.

Meanwhile, Wellington secondary schools warned RNZ they would struggle to hire teachers if the university’s plan went ahead.

Chair of the Council of Deans of Education, Don Klinger from the University of Waikato, said nobody expected Victoria’s decision but it was not surprising. “We all expected at some time somebody would make that decision,” he said. “I’ve been a dean and PVC [pro vice-chancellor] now for over five years and my first meeting I had when I arrived as a dean was about secondary teacher education. It’s a very expensive programme to run.”
Full report on the RNZ site