Open Letter - Opposition to undermining the Independence and Core Functions of the Teaching Council
To: Hon Erica Stanford, Minister of Education
From: Otago Primary Principals' Association (OPPA)
November 2025
Tēnā koe e te Minita,
As school leaders representing primary principals across the Otago region, the Otago Primary Principals' Association (OPPA) wishes to express our strong opposition to your decision to strip the Teaching Council of its independence and remove its core professional standard-setting functions.
Our first and most important professional obligation is always to our ākonga - past, present, and future.
The codes and standards that guide our practice have been developed by teachers, for teachers, under the oversight of an independent Teaching Council. That independence is essential to ensuring our profession maintains credibility, integrity, and alignment with the deeply held aspirations of teachers, whānau, and communities across Aotearoa.
Your recent announcement claims to "strengthen" initial teacher education (ITE) and workforce governance. However, the proposed changes instead represent a fundamental erosion of professional autonomy and the ability of teachers and principals to have a voice in determining and maintaining the standards of our profession.
When consulted last year regarding a possible "lift and shift" of the Council's responsibilities for initial teacher education, the teaching profession - including our association - made it clear that while there is a need to strengthen ITE through greater investment and collaboration, the Teaching Council is the appropriate body to oversee the professional requirements for entry and training.
We also made clear that direct political control of professional programmes and standards would constitute overreach and risk politicising the very framework that underpins trust in the profession.
Transferring these responsibilities to the Ministry of Education removes them from a body that has both professional and democratic accountability - a body jointly governed by elected and appointed members.
No evidence has been presented that the Ministry has the capability or the confidence of the profession to assume this work. The Teaching Council's independence was deliberately established to protect against this type of political interference and to preserve trust in the profession's ability to regulate itself responsibly.
Now, without any transparent evaluation of previous changes, evidence-based rationale, or consultation with the 100,000+ teachers and leaders whose registration fees fund the Council, you have announced legislative amendments that effectively silence the profession's voice.
Under your proposed changes, the Ministry of Education will assume responsibility for all professional standard-setting functions - including teacher education programme approval, professional standards, registration and certification criteria, and the Code of Conduct. The Teaching Council would be left with only registration, quality assurance, and disciplinary functions.
Our Critical Concerns
1. Loss of professional and democratic voice
The proposed legislation severely undermines the profession's autonomy and ability to self-regulate. Reducing elected representation on the Teaching Council from seven to three, while increasing Ministerial appointments, communicates a clear message of distrust toward the profession. It diminishes teachers' and principals' voices in setting the direction for teaching and learning in Aotearoa. The removal of the Council's legislative responsibility to provide professional leadership, enhance the status of the profession, and promote best practice will affect every teacher and leader - not only those involved in initial teacher education.
2. Replacement of independent oversight with political control
These changes strip the Teaching Council of its independence. When the Ministry of Education - as a government department - both writes and enforces the standards and code of conduct, professional judgement and advocacy for ākonga risk being constrained by political priorities. This represents an unprecedented intrusion into the profession's self-governance.
3. Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations at risk
The current Teaching Council standards require teachers to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi, promote culturally responsive practice and recognise the unique status of tangata whenua. Transferring standard-setting powers to the Ministry creates the risk that these commitments could be diluted or removed, aligning with recent government statements that suggest a deprioritisation of Te Tiriti in education.
As principals, we see daily the impact that professional independence has on the quality of teaching and learning in our schools. The Teaching Council provides an essential framework for ensuring that teaching remains a respected, evidence-informed, and ethically grounded profession.
We urge you to reconsider these changes. The Teaching Council must remain independent and accountable to the profession it serves, not to the government of the day. Anything less risks undermining public confidence, professional integrity, and the quality of education for all ākonga in Aotearoa.
Ngā mihi nui,
Kim Blackwood - Arthur Street School
Jen Rogers - St. Clair School
Chris McKinley - Elmgrove School
Verity Harlick - Maori Hill School
Vicki Nicolson - Port Chalmers School
Robyn Wood - George Street Normal School
Stephanie Madden - Abbotsford School
Greg Lees - Fairfield School
Nic Phillips - Karitane School
Greg Hurley - Silverstream School
Deidre Senior - Weston School
Gary Marsh - Balaclava School
Carmel Jolly - Mornington School
Heidi Hayward - Dunedin North Intermediate
Jared Holden - Opoho School
Steve Turnbull - Brockville School
Gareth Swete - Sawyers Bay School
On behalf of the Otago Primary Principals' Association (OPPA)