Union responds

Dear Editor,

In response to M.J. Burr’s letter dated 10th May, 2010, the NZ Teachers Council has absorbed the rising costs of the expanded services we provide to teachers for many years.

The registration fee has not increased for the last eight years and the reality is the costs of goods and services have risen substantially in that time.

I strongly believe the Teachers Council offers exceptional value for money for the services we offer teachers.

We chose to benchmark against our Australian counterparts because we provide similar services and measures for dealing with registration, conduct and competence.

Clearly the best way to compare value for money involves a comparison with equivalent professional bodies in NZ and overseas.

The council is not able to offer an annual fee because of the way the current legislation is written. However, we are willing to seriously review this option.

Dr Peter Lind, Director NZ Teachers Council