The Teachers' Council is hoping it will be allowed to use payroll records to check up on as many as 3500 teachers who haven't registered.
Teacher registration is compulsory, and teachers must renew their registration every three years. This costs $120 and includes a police vetting process.
Council
director Peter Lind said the council became aware there could be up to 3500 unregistered teachers, when it compared 2002 registration figures with those from 2005.
"It's not an actual number of [unregistered] teachers, it's an estimate based on the best information we have," Mr Lind said.
The council wanted to look at school payroll records from around the country, to see if there were paid teachers who were not on its register.
This proposal has met with opposition from the Post Primary Teachers' Association over issues of privacy. Mr Lind said the council was working with the PPTA to ensure its concerns were addressed.
Before it can access payroll records, the council must be given leave to do so by the Privacy Commissioner, or new legislation must be introduced.
He said the drop in 2005 registrations could be partly due to people leaving the profession, and a fee rise in 2002 might also be deterring teachers.
But National MP Katherine Rich said some teachers were clearly flouting the mandatory registration process.
She said the fact that up to 3500 teachers had not passed a police check posed an unacceptable risk to students.
Mr Lind said a criminal conviction would not necessarily bar someone from teaching.
"The police vet alerts the council to issues that need to be investigated, and they would be referred to the complaints assessment committee."
- NZPA
