Source: Radio New Zealand
Richard Tindiller
The Teaching Council replaced three vacant seats on its governing body after warnings that failing to do so would break its own rules.
Council chair David Ferguson told RNZ it made the decision after taking advice.
But the Educational Institute Te Riu Roa said the council, which is the regulatory body for the teaching profession, had earlier told education sector leaders it would not refill the seats.
The vacancies were for members elected by early childhood, primary and secondary teachers who resigned earlier this year or late last year.
The Education Act required the council to replace as soon as possible any member who left with more than six months to run on their term on the governing body.
RNZ understands the council’s leaders did not want to do that because the government was planning to pass a law change that would alter the council’s membership.
But they changed their mind following a meeting with sector leaders.
NZEI national secretary Stephanie Mills said Ferguson told the union and the leaders of other education sector groups at the meeting last month the council was not planning to fill the vacancies.
“We then wrote to the council and said that, in our view, they were in breach of their own rules, that it was important, not just in terms of the voice of teachers, but also in terms of the integrity of the council, that it followed those rules,” she said.
Mills said it was not acceptable that a body that purported to represent teachers did not have any teacher-elected members.
“Our concern was that the council hadn’t even told teachers who have paid over many decades for the council and for their certification processes that all the teacher elected members had resigned,” she said.
Mills said NZEI welcomed the council’s decision to bring back the elected teacher voices but it had happened under pressure.
“I think they have probably become aware that they are in breach of their own rules.
“It shouldn’t take this kind of pressure from the sector. This should be automatic. They should be considering their teacher stakeholders first.”
Ferguson said the council took advice about replacing the vacancies given that an expected law change would reduce the council’s membership.
“With the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill pending, the Council sought advice around the replacement of three seats that are currently vacant.
“Our concern was appointing new members without being able to provide them certainty of tenure, as the Bill proposes reducing Council members from 13 to a maximum of nine.
“In line with the advice we received and our obligations under the Education and Training Act 2020 and the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand Election Rules 2018, we have undertaken the required process to fill the vacant seats, and the three new members will be in attendance from this month’s Council meeting.”
It’s the second time the council changed course over breaching its own rules.
Last year it appointed a council member, Tom Gott, as acting chief executive even though the Education and Training Act said the chief executive could not be a council member.
The council and the Education Ministry told RNZ the appointment was appropriate but Gott resigned his council seat after RNZ repeatedly asked both organisations whether the appointment was legal.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand