Migrants courted as childcare solution

The Government has made it easier for overseas early childhood teachers to work in New Zealand in an effort to ease the shortage of qualified staff.

The Immigration Service this week placed early childhood teachers on the "long-term skill shortage list", which will help migrants with the correct qualifications to gain residency.

But Early Childhood Council president Ross Penman said the move would not be enough as there was a shortage of about 2500 qualified teachers, based on surveys of the 900 centres that belong to the organisation.

Education Minister Trevor Mallard said the figure was not that high, but an extra 5000 teachers would be needed in the next five years.

In 2002, the Government introduced a 10-year plan for early childhood education, Pathways to the Future. Under it, all teachers in a position of responsibility were this year required to be qualified and registered.

By 2012, all early childhood teachers must be either fully registered and qualified or on their way to being so.

Mr Mallard said only 31 centres had failed to meet this year's requirements and they had been granted provisional licences to allow them more time to hire qualified staff.

He said the new requirements were testing the sector, but he believed they would have the 5000 extra qualified teachers by 2010.

A spokeswoman for the NZ Childcare Association said it supported the Government's policy, but members were facing challenges and difficulties.

National's education spokesman, Bill English, said: "We will get immigrant teachers in our centres who don't know New Zealand kids, and they are replacing very experienced long-term New Zealand teachers who have been kicked out because of the Government's bureaucratic requirements.

"I think that's crazy."

Why the shortage?

* From this year, childcare centres must be run by a qualified, registered teacher with a three-year early childhood teaching diploma.

* By 2012, all teachers must have the diploma or be studying for it.

* The new rules apply to all teacher-led early childhood services - but not to state kindergartens, playcentres and kohanga reo.