Alarm over education funding

A report which shows teachers in New Zealand work some of the longest hours for the lowest pay in the developed world paints a concerning picture of the nation's educational landscape, according to Nelson principals.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Education at a Glance report shows the equivalent starting salary for a New Zealand teacher is $27,600, about $13,000 below the average and about $18,700 behind Australia. Of the 29 countries ranked in the survey, New Zealand had the fourth lowest starting salary.

The OECD report also showed annual student spending in New Zealand is below average in primary, secondary and tertiary education.

Nelson Central School principal Dr Paul Potaka said the report "painted a concerning picture".

"We lose a lot of New Zealand trained teachers in their prime to overseas positions, particularly international schools."

Dr Potaka said it was difficult to gauge the overall impact of that, but the pools of good, experienced teachers were smaller than they used to be.

After 15 years' experience, New Zealand teachers are still behind on the pay scale, earning $53,200, $7200 below the average.

According to the report, New Zealand teachers were teaching about 1000 hours a year, nearly 200 hours more than the average and the second highest among surveyed countries.

Hira School principal Tonnie Uiterwijk said principals tended to have older families, which meant they could travel easily.

"If our salaries are not competitive, we could have a bigger shortage than what we have now. If the Government was interested in maintaining a good teaching workforce, it would do something about it."

Victory Primary School principal Mark Brown said the problem was compounded by the recession, when government expenditure was tight.

He said Nelson was fortunate to have a training centre in the city, which was rare for provincial New Zealand.

"We are able to attract those who can stay as residents while they train, rather than having to travel away, so maybe we are not striking the reality here that other areas are."

Meanwhile, university vice-chancellors say the Government is playing a "high-risk" game with continued under investment in education.

The total amount New Zealand spent per student on their primary and secondary education was $103,000, compared with $137,000 in Australia and $147,000 in Britain. The OECD average was $134,000.

New Zealand spent just over $13,000 per tertiary student annually, while Australia and Britain spent about $21,500 and the United States spent more than $36,000.

The figures have been adjusted to eliminate purchasing-power differences between countries.

Despite the disparities in investment, New Zealand had high levels of educational attainment. Twenty-five per cent of working-age Kiwis had a degree-level qualification, compared with 24 per cent in Australia and 22 per cent in Britain. More than 40 per cent of Kiwis had some sort of tertiary qualification, compared with 34 per cent in Australia and 32 per cent in Britain.

New Zealand Vice-chancellors' Committee deputy chairman Derek McCormack warned of a bleak future for universities if disparities in investment persisted.

He said that while New Zealand universities were performing well on tight budgets, the ability to maintain that level of performance was doubtful if underfunding continued.

In a decade, they could be struggling to attract the high-quality staff necessary to turn out top graduates.

- with Fairfax reporters

- © Fairfax NZ News