新西兰音乐教师缺吗？
New Zealand has a shortage of qualified music teachers. This means that there are not enough qualified and certified music educators to fill all the roles in New Zealand’s music education system. There is no official data on how many new jobs will be created by this teacher shortage， but it's estimated to be significant.
The reasons for having an unqualified teaching workforce are multifaceted. In some cases， qualified teachers can choose not to work with children or prefer to leave teaching behind altogether as they pursue other passions. At the same time， other qualified colleagues enter the field later in life after raising families and pursuing other careers - often because they enjoy working with children so much！ It’s important to note here that we are talking about New Zealand’s primary school system (which includes kindergarten)， where qualifications are not compulsory（不强制的）and the pay rate is low by international standards.
With an average pay rate of NZ $64，000（约31万元人民币）a year， primary music education does not offer very high salaries． And when you weigh the importance of music to the wellbeing of students against the financial investment required to become a qualified musician， it becomes clear why the pool of potential candidates is limited. On top of which， only five percent of new graduates in any given year choose to teach， according to figures from the Ministry of Education.
As a result， New Zealand schools have had to make do with unqualified teachers who lack the vital subject knowledge and expertise to deliver engaging and enriching music programs to their students. Inevitably， this leads to a dilution of curriculum expectation and quality across public schooling.
In addition， it also means that opportunities for musicians to enter teaching are extremely limited， since it is highly unlikely that you could find employment without relevant experience and qualifications. One solution might be to encourage more people with a background in music to take up teaching——as long as the pay levels were commensurate（相当的