GRAVE SHORTAGE OF SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE NORTH ISLAND

Wanganui Chronicle, 5 February 1948, Page 7

GRAVE SHORTAGE OF SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE NORTH ISLAND

(P.A.) Dunedin. Feb. 3. The shortage of teachers throughout New Zealand and especially in the North Island was so grave that a state of emergency had been declared by the Education Department and every effort was being made to alleviate the position, said the principal of the Dunedin Teachers’ Training College, Mr. E. Partridge, in an interview today. This shortage had been brought about mainly by the greatly increased birthrate over the past three or four years, the first effecs of which were only now making themselves felt in the infant grades. The peak shortage was expected to arrive in the next two years, when the five-year-olds started school, said Mr. Partridge. The shortage had also been aggravated by the large number of women teachers who had resigned to be married since the end' of the war. This not only meant fewer teachers but more children to teach, and the situation was expected to deteriorate before any improvement could bb effected. Although the number of students at the Dunedin Training College this year was only slightly higher than normal, the numbers in respective years reflected the unusual conditions. There was a record intake of 185 first-year students, 35 homecraft students, and only 35 third-year students. The position was similar in other training colleges, concluded Mr. Partridge. As training in agriculture, music and physical education had been suspended to obtain as many active teachers as possible, the department hoped to satisfy the demands of any students whose training had been interrupted as soon as the present emergency wa, relieved.