The Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, today announced changes which will affect teachers. She said that class sizes for Years 2 to 10 will average 27 students. This means that some classes will be slightly bigger while others will be slightly smaller. At the moment Years 2 and 3 average 23 students while Years 4, 5, 6 and 7 average 29 students. The government thinks this will save $43m a year in teachers’ pay. A few teachers will lose their jobs.
However, Ms Parata said that the government plans to spend half a billion dollars on education in the next four years. She said they want better teachers. All new teachers will need a post-graduate qualification. All new principals will need a special principals’ qualification. At the moment, all secondary school teachers do have a post-graduate qualification. After gaining a degree in the subject of their choice, they spend a year at a College of Education. Primary teachers need only a degree in education, a B Ed.
The Ministry of Education might also look at performance pay. This is extra pay for good teachers.
We will learn more about the government’s plans for spending on Education when the Minister of Finance reads the Budget next Thursday.
Listen to May 19th 2011 to hear about last year’s Budget.
Vocabulary
affect – make a difference
average – if one class has 31 students and another has 27, the average is 29.
slightly – a little
B Ed – Bachelor of Education
performance – the work someone does, especially how well it is done
The Budget – the government’s plan for spending for the year
Questions
• What is a ‘good teacher’? How would you decide who is a good teacher? Would this depend on student results?
• What do you think about class size? Is there much difference between 29 and 27 students in a class? Is there much difference between 23 and 27 students in a class?
• Which school years are the most important for a child?
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