National want to scrap teacher registration fees and instead fund the Teaching Council directly, education spokesperson Nikki Kaye announced today.
Ms Kaye said should National win the 2020 election, teaching costs should be reduced "as people deal with the economic crisis our country is facing" brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is estimated the proposal would cost taxpayers $16 million a year.
"New Zealand has had long-standing teacher supply and retention issues," Ms Kaye said. "This is a small way that we can reduce costs for teachers ."
"It’s important we reduce costs particularly when we are heading into a recession," she said.
The independent teaching body has come under fire for its planned increase of registration fees. The fees, required for teachers to become qualified, are being increased from $220.80 every three years ($73.60 a year) to $157 annually from February 2021.
There had not been an increase to fees in 10 years.
Teachers were told of the increase after the Covid-19 lockdown and a petition calling for the increase to be stopped saw 30,727 signatures as of today.
Today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it is "not unusual to have bodies like the Teaching Council in the same way we do for nurses and they do usually involve registration fees".
"We want to see our teachers well supported. That’s why we’ve seen those increases in wages which were needed. But we also need to see that professional development and support a Teaching Council brings."
In February, the Teaching Council told TVNZ1's Breakfast the then-proposed increase was essential to upholding the quality of teaching.
"Teachers have an amazing opportunity to impact society and the kids that they’re working with into the next generation, so our role in there is to ensure teacher quality and leadership and safety of children and reputation of the profession," Teaching Council chief executive Lesley Hoskin said at the time.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins told 1 NEWS in May the increase in fees was "triggered by the reforms that the last National Government did to the way the Teaching Council operates, the way the regulatory system around teachers operates, and does give teachers control over their own profession".
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