Teacher shortage affects Waimarino
The nationwide shortage of qualified primary and secondary school teachers is leaving its mark on the Waimarino. Waiouru Primary School was four teachers short at the end of the first term and Principal Tauri Morgan described the situation as critical. Waiouru's problem is that of a transient population related to the Army Training Group, with the problem manifesting itself in the school role. Ruapehu College also has four vacancies, in english, mathematics, art and transition to work classes. Although there are vacancies there are adequate numbers of relieving tea-
chers available to fill the positions, according to college Principal lan Meredith. The vacancies came about from a teacher's transfer to another college, two teachers leaving for overseas trips and one teacher's return to University. Mr Meredith said that a lot of interest has been shown in the positions but a major problem is the number of people applying who do not held suitable qualifications. Prospective applicants need to hold a degree and have teacher training experience before they are even considered. "I value the staff and pupils too much to just appoint the first person who applies," said Mr Meredith. Mr Meredith said the
nationwide shortage of staff is caused through a drop in numbers of school leavers choosing teaching as their profession. One reason given is that many young people who would like to become teachers are unable to afford four years study on the standard tertiary grant. Some years ago teacher trainees were paid an allowance to help them support themselves during study. Mr Meredith said the Post Primary Teachers Association is presently pressing for a similar allowance to be paid to encourage people who might not otherwise be able to afford it. The Waimarino also faces an additional problem of
being relatively isolated and away from the main stream of educational interpla> . Prospective teachers may be scared away by the fact that a sports or cultural visit to another school is a day trip and that the closest medical centres are in either Taumarunui or Wanganui. One of the drawcards to the area for teachers is the cheap rents, but this may soon change with the Department of Education's proposal to increase rents. The proposal has met with furious opposition from teachers at all levels with many schools registering their complaints directly to the Minister of Education. cont'd page 11
Teacher shortage
from page 1 There were over 350 vacancies at secondary school level at the beginning of this year. Principal of Raetihi Primary School, Geoff Lovegrove, said he forsees major problems in the future regarding attracting teachers to the school but at present they are adequately staffed. Mr Lovegrove expressed concern that it is already difficult to get relieving teachers during the winter months when staff and pupil numbers are affected by winter related illnesses. Ohakune Primary School's principal, Ross Richdale, also expressed the opinion that schools in the Waimarino may have problems attracting teachers to take on permanent positions in future. He said he has personally written to MP Russell Marshall but has yet received no reply. In the cases of sole-charge schools such as Ngamatea and Orautoha, the rental of an Education Board house is subsidised by an isolation allowance but is still likely to rise from $15 to around $35, per week. The cost of primary school teachers' housing in the Waimarino is also likely to rise from $26 to around $60, while secondary school housing will be around $80 — the difference in cost is because the Primary Schools are covered by a special incentive allowance while Ruapehu Collegedoes not fall in the same category.
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Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 47, 12 May 1987, Page 1
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606Teacher shortage affects Waimarino Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 47, 12 May 1987, Page 1
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