Teaching Council set to be stripped of powers
The Teaching Council will no longer oversee professional standards, and its board will be “urgently” reconstituted.
The role of setting professional standards for teachers and initial teacher education (ITE) providers is set to be taken from the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand (TCA) and given to the Ministry of Education.
The board is being “urgently” reconstituted, with seven ministerially appointed members to sit on the board alongside six elected members. A teacher educator-elected representative will no longer be required to sit on the board.
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The TCA’s other duties like providing direction for teachers, enhancing the status of the teaching profession, and promoting best practice, will also be removed as there are other agencies who currently fulfil these roles.
The changes to the TCA’s board are being included as a “small addition” to the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No.2) currently before Parliament, expected to take effect this month.
Other changes will come into effect through legislative changes set to be progressed in 2026. In future, the board will also be reduced from 13 to between seven and nine members, but representative electives will remain from the early childhood, primary, and secondary education sectors respectively.
In a press release, Minister for Education Erica Stanford said the changes were being made “to lift the quality of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and restore trust and confidence in the governance of the education workforce.”
Stanford cited the OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024, which found 62 percent of graduate teachers were not confident to teach all the content, and over half weren’t confident with pedagogical approaches.
She also noted that the TCA is currently under investigation over how it manages procurement, and conflicts of interest. Stanford instigated this investigation following a complaint, with a report expected in December.
These changes have been widely criticised by the education sector as undermining the profession through a forceful power seizure.
Educators react to “unprecedented political interference”
Over 10 organisations in the education sector have signed an open letter opposing the decision to remove powers from the TCA, including NZEI Te Riu Roa, PPTA Te Wehengarua, NZ Principals’ Federation, New Zealand Area Schools Association, Te Akatea, Catholic Principals Association, Pasifika Principals Association, Aotearoa Educators Collective, Montessori Aotearoa NZ, Kindergartens Aotearoa and the Tertiary Educators Association of NZ (TEFANZ).
Related School News article: Unions: Moving ITE from Teaching Council to Ministry is wrong
The letter outlines three main concerns, including the loss of professional and democratic voice; direct political control replacing the independent professional body oversight of teaching standards; and the risk to Te Tiriti obligations within the standards.
Leanne Otene, President of the NZ Principals’ Federation, spoke on behalf of the signatories, calling the move “an over-reach by the Minister.
“Last year [the Minister] backed off removing initial teacher education from the Council after strong opposition from the sector. Now she is not only doing that but also removing the voice of teachers from shaping our own professional standards and codes. The codes are there to protect students and uphold quality in the profession.
“These standards give teachers the responsibility to put children’s learning first, and the right to speak out on important ethical and professional issues. These standards shouldn’t be subject to direct political interference by Ministers of the day.
“Our students are the ones who will suffer – this is what this change means and why we oppose it. Who will be speaking for ākonga?”
Otene also spoke in her capacity as President of the NZPF, stating in a press release that the TCA is an independent professional body for teachers, and its duties of setting professional standards, registration criteria, code of conduct, advocacy, and complaints and disciplinary role within the profession is akin to all other professional bodies like the Medical Association or Law Society.
“This action completely undermines our teaching profession and is unprecedented political interference,” says Otene.
“We are fast losing all confidence in Minister Stanford who has not consulted with us on any of her significant recent moves on curriculum, Board responsibilities for enacting Te Tiriti o Waitangi, or this latest move on the Teaching Council.”
Chris Abercrombie, President of Post Primary Teachers Association Te Wehengarua, characterised these changes as “a blatant power grab.
“Our professional body – the people that register us, that look after our code, our standards, our professionalism – is being overthrown by the government.
“Teachers should be independent of the government; they shouldn’t be worried that speaking out about their concerns should lead to their registration being under attack.”
Abercrombie also criticised the Minister’s “cherry picking” of TALIS data, saying that the survey also showed New Zealand teachers are the third most stressed in the world, with the biggest cause being government changes. Our teachers also work the second longest hours in the world, and only 14 percent believed the government valued them.
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Tute Mila, Principal at Arakura School and a member of the NZEI Te Riu Roa governance group said “[Stanford] is not interested in hearing what the sector has to say,” as this is the latest in a series of decisions made without feedback or consultation.
Mila said this was a “drastic measure,” in response to the sector’s pushbacks against unpopular education policies.
“When you look at the pattern of what the Minister’s trying to push and the fact the sector is not complying with what she wants, and the next thing you get [is] this move to take control of the Teaching Council – that certainly looks like a power flex to me.”
A similar proposal to move the TCA’s responsibilities to the Ministry of Education made late last year was abandoned after pushback from the sector.
