English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:621;Page:16605] 
9.  
Hon BILL ENGLISH (National—Clutha-Southland) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: Can he confirm that the reason the New Zealand Teachers Council cannot release a report about the quality of teacher training in New Zealand is because he has not released it; if so when will he release it? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education)) 
 on behalf of the 
 Minister of Education 
: No the Minister cannot confirm that. The report is not the Minister’s to release. I am advised that although the report was never intended to be officially published it has already been released. 
Hon Bill English 
: Is the Minister of Education aware that the New Zealand Teachers Council is meant to be an independent statutory body and can he confirm that the public comments made by the Teachers Council over this damning report show that he is exercising political influence which in this case is against the law? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: No I cannot confirm that. 
Lynne Pillay 
: What are some of the positive achievements of the Teachers Council since it was established? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Although the Teachers Council has had a challenging start we should not overlook the good progress that has been made in some key areas. The council has made good progress in putting in place a code of ethics for the teaching profession in implementing a greatly strengthened disciplinary system in implementing the police vetting of non-teaching staff and in re-registering a large number of teachers. In time the Teachers Council has the potential to contribute considerably to the quality of the teaching profession. 
Deborah Coddington 
: How can boards of trustees principals parents and even teachers themselves have any faith in the quality of teacher training in New Zealand when the Teachers Council which specifically approves all teacher-training courses in New Zealand has come up with its own report that states that even it cannot guarantee that all courses are turning out well-prepared teachers? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I understand that this report was commissioned following a suggestion made by the New Zealand Educational Institute as part of a working-party on qualifications for primary school teachers. The report was the initial stage of a four-phase research project being carried out by the ministry and the Teachers Council and helped to establish the parameters for the rest of the research programme. The report looked at a sample of historical documentation on initial teacher education programme approvals by the Teachers Council. Of course this research is being used alongside the development of the council to improve the qualifications of teachers. 
Bernie Ogilvy 
: Does the Minister of Education—given the repeated muck-ups by the Teachers Council such as the backlog of teacher registrations the demise of several council chairs with golden handshakes the concerns of the Education and Science Committee and the continued absence of the council’s first item of business which was the code of ethics—have complete confidence in his Teachers Council; if so why? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I think it would be fair to say that the Teachers Council has had to overcome some pretty serious setbacks in the formation of its work plan and its organisation. Of course the future of the council will be dependent upon its ability to continue to attract good management staff and members of its governing body. We hope that is the case because like most countries we want to have a Teachers Council doing this kind of work. 
Hon Bill English 
: What action does the Minister of Education intend to take on the findings of the report which are that among the programmes reviewed there are many with poorly developed conceptual frameworks narrowly conceived programmes based on a single theorist an unidentified research base inadequate practicum arrangements unclear progression through the programme and irrelevant courses not aligned with the New Zealand curriculum; and when will he take this issue seriously given that very poorly prepared teachers are standing in front of thousands of children today because these courses are no good? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: The report was commissioned as I said before by the ministry and the Teachers Council so that it could inform their thinking about initial teacher education and their respective roles in it. In other words the research the first stage of a four-stage piece of research is to help the Teachers Council to do exactly what the member is seeking. 
Hon Bill English 
: Can the Minister of Education not see that much more urgent action is needed than a four-stage report and collaboration process given that a recent report from the Education Review Office concluded that half of all beginning secondary school teachers and one-third of all beginning primary school teachers were ineffective which affects the education of 30000 children today? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I would point out that the Minister of Education’s concern about initial teacher education has been of note for some time which is why there is a moratorium on initial teacher education providers and why organisations such as the Teachers Council and the Ministry of Education have been working actively on initial teacher education since that time.