Auckland (Avneet Kaur) A major South Auckland high school will finish classes early on Friday after a large number of teachers were absent due to illness and other circumstances, once again exposing the growing staffing pressure facing New Zealand schools.
Manurewa High School said nearly 29 staff members were unavailable, leaving the school unable to properly cover all classrooms with relief teachers.
The school, which has around 2300 students, said it would normally manage between 10 and 15 teacher absences on a typical day. However, over recent weeks, the number needing class cover had regularly risen to more than 20 daily, placing heavy strain on remaining staff and available relievers.
School leadership said the situation had become difficult to sustain, leading to the decision to close the school after lunchtime on Friday.
Students are expected to leave around 2pm, although those unable to return home because of transport or age-related reasons will still be supervised at school.
The same school was also forced to shorten a school day last year because of similar teacher shortage pressures.
The latest disruption comes as New Zealand continues facing a nationwide shortage of secondary school teachers.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Education warned the country could face a shortfall of more than 700 secondary teachers during 2026, with staffing challenges expected to continue next year as well.
Schools across the country have increasingly struggled to find qualified relief teachers, especially during winter periods when illness-related absences rise sharply.
Education groups have repeatedly warned that increasing workloads, stress, burnout and recruitment difficulties are making it harder for schools to retain and attract teachers.
For many large schools, especially in high-growth urban areas, unexpected staff shortages are now becoming increasingly difficult to manage without affecting normal classroom learning.
