The announcement of a $95 million investment into training future teachers has been welcomed by the industry.
The Government says it'll mean thousands more teachers to help solve the shortage.
But, those on the front line say more investment is needed.
"It is literally pay cheque to pay cheque which is incredible considering I am a senior manager at my school. This is the new face of teaching and this is why people are not staying in the profession," Wainuiomata Primary School deputy principal Seletute Porter-Samuels told TVNZ1's Breakfast today.
"When you look at workload, the type of work that we're doing, the hours that we're putting in, the fact that we can't sleep at night because we're waking up thinking about our kids and the situations that we have to deal with; these are the drivers that are causing the teacher shortage."
She did agree how the Government was thinking was a good thing, but said the investment into training future teachings won't make any difference to the current situation teachers now are facing.
When asked if the investment was a waste, rather than focusing on the current problems, Ms Porter-Samuels said, "I don't think it's a waste, we need both. We need measures in place for the future, but we also need immediate solutions now and I think there is plenty of room there for the Government to show courage, to face and address the issues that teachers are having across the country."
At her school, Ms Porter-Samuels struggled to find relievers cover for sick staff as well as classroom sizes stretching three to six more students with shortages in the industry.
Under the current pressure, the industry would only end up with more people leaving, she said. "This Government needs to show some courage and make teaching a viable and sustainable profession."
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