‘The suggestion that performance pay would prompt higher quality teaching in primary schools misses the point,’ said Paul Drummond, President of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation.

‘We would agree with the Minister of Education that a high quality teaching force makes a difference to children’s achievement. We have it already! The Minister needs only look at our world class rankings in achievement to see that our children continually rank amongst the highest achievers in the world,’ he said.

‘The most common question parents ask when their child starts school is ‘how big is my child’s class?’ said Paul Drummond, President of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF). 

'Instinctively, parents understand that the smaller the class, the more teaching attention their child will get and they are right,’ he said.

The Minister of Education’s announcement today that a post-graduate qualification for trainee teachers will increase teacher quality has been received with scepticism by the President of the New Zealand principals’ Federation, Paul Drummond.

‘A subject specific degree, followed by a shorter teacher training period may well be a suitable qualification for teaching in the secondary sector,’ said Drummond, ‘but in the primary sector, teachers are required to teach all subjects right across the curriculum, not just a single subject,’ he said.