Principals are urging caution over the thousands of foreign teachers who want to work in New Zealand, saying many will not be good enough to hire.
Principals are urging caution over the thousands of foreign teachers who want to work in New Zealand. Photo: 123RF
The Education Ministry said more than 3000 had responded to an advertising campaign and 550 had been judged to have the right qualifications to work in New Zealand schools.
It said more than 100 of the teachers had already been hired.
Secondary Principals' Association president Mike Williams said foreign teachers might help schools avoid the worst of the teacher shortage but it was unlikely the recruitment campaign had attracted only the best and brightest teachers from other countries.
Mike Williams, Pakuranga College Principal and President of the Secondary Principals Association Photo: SUPPLIED
"There's a worldwide shortage of quality teachers and for New Zealand suddenly to have this abundant supply is a little bit too good to be true," he said.
"If they can't get employment in their own country, who probably has a shortage like New Zealand, then what makes us think they're going to be high-quality teachers here."
Ōtāhuhu College principal Neil Watson said he had hired overseas-trained teachers before, but the CVs he had seen from the latest recruitment drive had not been great.
"If people have worked in six different schools in the last five years, that's probably not a good indication that they're going to be successful in the classroom," he said.
"That's usually a red flag."
Auckland Secondary Principals' Association president Richard Dykes said he too had looked at of some of the teachers who made it through screening and none were good enough to interview for his vacancies.
He said having the right qualifications to work in New Zealand was not the same as being a good teacher.
"Let's not automatically assume that because they are qualified they are quality. Those two things are very very different. And what we've got to be really careful of is we're not becoming a dumping ground for people who can't get jobs in their own jurisdictions."
New Zealand Principal's Federation president Whetu Cormick said he had received no complaints from the federation's members about the calibre of overseas applicants.
He said it was up to principals to decide if applicants were good enough to work in their schools, but there was likely to be strong demand for overseas teachers.
"Across the country many schools are in crisis situation. They have no applicants applying for positions at their schools and principals across the country, obviously in those crisis areas, are frantically trying to find teachers for the new school year," Mr Cormick said.
He said he was not optimistic that schools would be able to fill all their 2019 vacancies.
The Education Ministry's deputy secretary early learning student achievement, Ellen MacGregor-Reid, said overseas teachers were assessed by the Qualifications Authority and Teaching Council to make sure they met the same requirements as New Zealand-trained teachers and were ready to interview.