Proposed last-minute amendments to the Education System Reform Bill will remove elected teacher representatives and strip the Teaching Council of its independence, NZEI Te Riu Roa President Ripeka Lessels said.
Under the Government’s new amendments, the Minister of Education will directly appoint all seven to nine members of the Council, with the power to dismiss them at will, completely eliminating teacher representation.
This marks a significant departure from the current system, where teachers elect at least seven members of the Council to ensure an independent professional voice. It also abandons the Government’s earlier proposal, which promised teachers the right to elect at least three members to ensure representation across the early childhood education, primary, and secondary sectors.
“By reducing teacher-elected seats from three to zero, the final proposal strips the Council of its independence and places it under total ministerial control,” Mrs Lessels said.
The Education Minister’s proposed changes contradict advice from her own Ministry. In a regulatory impact statement prepared for Cabinet, the Ministry of Education warned that “the prospective reduction in teacher expertise on the Council risks there being an ongoing reduction in teacher viewpoint being included in decision-making.”
It further advised that the “removal of elected members considerably reduces profession representation and independent voice” in the Council.
Furthermore, the statutory requirement for the Council regarding government policy will change from “have regard to” to “give effect to,” effectively placing the regulatory body under direct political control.
“These changes dismantle the independence of the teaching profession’s regulatory body and were introduced with no prior consultation with the education sector,” Mrs Lessels said.
“This mirrors the same undemocratic process used by the Minister to remove Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations from school boards under section 127 through a last-minute Amendment Paper.
“By removing elected teacher voices and requiring the Council to implement ministerial directives, the Government is shifting control from educators to political appointees,” she added.
“Losing guaranteed representation for early childhood education, primary, and secondary sectors is a massive step backward. Rushing these major changes through without asking teachers for feedback shows a complete lack of respect for our profession.”