National welcomes withdrawal of 'severely flawed' NZ First bill to restrict 'teacher' title

The proposed Member's Bill that would restrict the use of the title 'teacher' has been withdrawn by New Zealand First MP Jenny Marcroft, a move welcomed by National who called the amendment, "severely flawed". 

"This is a simple clarification that will support the professional status of teachers," Ms Marcroft said during its first reading in February. 

It would have meant people such as music teachers and special education teachers would need to be described as tutors, mentors or educators, Ms Marcroft previously told Stuff. 

"We are saying there should be differentiation between those who are trained in the practice of education and those subject matter experts."

If they continued to call themselves teachers, they could face a $2,000 fine.

The bill, written by Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin, passed its first reading in parliament with support from Labour, NZFirst and the Green Party, only opposed by National and ACT. 

A poll by TVNZ1's Breakfast  asked last month if Facebook users agreed with the proposed move, with only 214 people voting for the amendment, and over 2,800 against. 

Despite majority support in its first reading, Ms Marcroft yesterday removed the bill, "after a positive discussion between New Zealand First and the office of the Minister of Education", she said in a statement. 

The statement went on to highlight the recent launch of a new initiative called 'Education Conversation 2018'.

"Add this to the multiple trains of work the Minister of Education is undertaking and I see a real commitment to raising and recognising the status of our teaching profession which gives me confidence that my Member's Bill is no longer needed," Ms Marcroft said. 

Education Council general manager Pauline Barnes told 1 NEWS she was pleased the bill had been withdrawn. 

"As the professional body for registered teachers we are always interested in opportunities to raise the status of our members but this bill simply did not do that," Ms Barnes said. 

The move was welcomed by National education spokesperson Nikki Kaye, who called it a "big win" for those who would have lost the title of teacher. 

"It's good that Jenny Marcroft has recognised the overwhelming opposition to the bill she inherited from Tracey Martin and made the right call to drop it. Her heart was in the right place but the bill was not well thought-through."

"There are far better ways to raise the status of teachers. We need to make sure we have high quality graduates choosing teaching as a career and investing in professional learning and development opportunities.

"This bill was severely flawed from the start and I hope this is the last we’ll see of it," Ms Kaye said. 

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