Domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time

This initial teacher education (ITE) statistics page gives an overview of trends in the number of students enrolling in and completing initial teacher education qualifications that may lead to registration by the New Zealand Teaching Council.

Domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time

Overall trends (see figures 8 and 9) Last updated: September 2025

There was a decrease in first-time domestic ITE graduates in 2024 compared to 2023. The number of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time decreased from 3,350 in 2023 to 3,105 in 2024 (a decrease of 7.3 percent or 245 graduates). When looking at the indicative teaching sector this was the result of:

  • a decrease in early childhood (ECE) ITE graduates from 1,160 graduates in 2023 to 1,030 graduates in 2024 (a decrease of 11 percent or 130 graduates)
  • a decrease in primary ITE graduates from 1,495 graduates in 2023 to 1,285 graduates in 2024 (a decrease of 14 percent or 210 graduates)
  • an increase in secondary ITE graduates from 675 graduates in 2023 to 780 graduates in 2024 (an increase of 16 percent or 105 graduates)

There was also a decrease of Māori medium ITE graduates from 165 in 2023 to 135 in 2024 (these graduates are already included in the sector data above).

The decrease in ECE ITE graduates in 2024 partly reflects that graduate numbers in 2023 had been boosted by a COVID related surge in people starting ITE bachelors degrees three years earlier. The lower number of graduates in 2024 reflects lower enrolments in the years after COVID. The number of graduates in 2024 (1,030) remains above the low point of 945 in 2019.

Graduate numbers in primary ITE decreased from 1,495 in 2023 to 1,285 in 2024 and represents the low point in this data time series (which has data available from 2005 to 2024). Similar to ECE, part of the decrease in 2024 was due to graduate numbers in 2023 being boosted by the COVID-related surge from three years earlier.

Because the vast majority of secondary ITE students are enrolled in programmes that take one year to complete full time, graduate numbers tend to mirror enrolments in that year. The increase in the number of secondary ITE graduates from a low point of 675 in 2023 to 780 in 2024 reflected an increase in enrolments over the same period.

Figure 8: Number of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time by indicative teaching sector

Figure 8

Note: where students enrol in or complete an ITE qualification which prepares them to teach in more than one sector, we report them in each of these sectors.

Table 2: Number of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time by indicative teaching sector

Notes:

  1. Students can complete a qualification in more than one teaching sector, so summing individual sectors may not equal the total.
  2. Students may complete more than one ITE qualification over time. In this data, we present students who complete an ITE qualification for the very first time in that year.
  3. In some cases, sector of qualification has been derived from the courses studied by a student and so should be seen as indicative only.
  4. Where sector of study has not been able to be determined, students have been placed in the "Unknown" category.
  5. During 2025, providers can report further completions for previous years, so the completions data in this table is provisional.
  6. Data in this table has been revised and may differ from previously published figures.
  7. Data in this table, including totals, have been rounded to the nearest 5, so the sum of individual  counts may not add to the total.

Indicative teaching sector

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

ECE

1,040

1,380

1,440

1,765

1,755

1,780

2,125

2,140

2,030

1,665

1,380

1,130

1,095

950

945

1,010

1,240

1,135

1,160

1,030

Primary

1,730

1,885

1,950

1,760

1,925

1,670

2,080

2,085

1,925

1,885

1,630

1,470

1,505

1,505

1,535

1,380

1,825

1,470

1,495

1,285

Secondary

1,145

1,210

1,120

1,065

1,205

1,105

1,200

1,045

860

880

805

765

865

880

835

820

1,020

820

675

780

Unknown

70

50

45

25

10

15

10

5

5

10

5

5

5

5

0

10

10

10

20

5

Total

3,750

4,295

4,345

4,405

4,680

4,485

5,320

5,165

4,720

4,365

3,785

3,335

3,455

3,325

3,315

3,220

4,095

3,435

3,350

3,105

Māori medium

The number of first-time graduates from Māori medium ITE qualifications decreased in 2024 following three years of increases. The number of graduates decreased from 165 in 2023 to 135 in 2024. This compares with 150 graduates in 2022 and 135 graduates in 2021. Because of the small numbers involved, the Māori medium graduate numbers can exhibit considerable variation between years.

In 2024, 74 percent of graduates were from immersion programmes.

In 2024, 89 percent of graduates were in primary sector programmes. For the first time in 2024, there was a small number (10) of Māori medium graduates in secondary ITE.

Figure 9: Number of domestic students completing Māori medium ITE qualifications who were completing their first ITE qualification

Figure 9


Demographic characteristics by teaching sector (see figures 10-12)

First-time ITE graduates have generally been getting younger in the ECE sector. The proportion of ECE graduates aged under 35 years has increased from 53 percent in 2007 to 67 percent in 2024. In the last eleven years, the proportion of graduates aged under 35 in primary ITE has ranged between 75 percent and 80 percent. In secondary ITE, the proportion of graduates aged under 35 had decreased from 83 percent in 2015 to 69 percent in 2024.

First-time graduates in the ECE sector were almost exclusively women (97 percent in 2024). Women were relatively smaller proportions, but still majorities, of primary (83 percent in 2024) and secondary (60 percent in 2024) sector graduates.

In 2024, the proportion of ITE graduates who were Māori increased in two of the three teaching sectors. In ECE, the proportion of Māori graduates increased from 13 percent in 2023 to 15 percent in 2024, the proportion of Māori graduates in primary ITE increased from 24 percent in 2023 to 26 percent in 2024, while the proportion of Māori graduates in the secondary sector decreased from 17 percent in 2023 to 13 percent in 2024. Of the three teaching sectors, primary ITE (26 percent) has the highest proportion of Māori graduates in 2024.

The low number of first-time graduates who are Pacific Peoples makes identifying trends difficult. In 2024, the proportion of graduates who were Pacific Peoples increased slightly in the ECE and primary sectors, while decreasing slightly in the secondary sector. In the ECE sector, the proportion of Pacific Peoples increased from 7.3 percent in 2023 to 8.7 percent in 2024 and in primary the proportion increased from 8.0 percent in 2023 to 8.9 percent in 2024. The proportion of Pacific Peoples in the secondary sector decreased slightly from 8.9 percent in 2023 to 8.3 percent in 2024. In 2024, the proportion of Pacific Peoples was roughly the same in all three teaching sectors (8.7 percent in ECE, 8.9 percent in primary and 8.3 percent in secondary).

Figure 10: Age distribution of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time by indicative teaching sector

Figure 10

Figure 11: Gender distribution of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time by indicative teaching sector

Figure 11

Figure 12: Ethnic group distribution of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time by indicative teaching sector

Figure 12

Study-related characteristics by teaching sector (see figures 13 and 14)

In the ECE and primary sectors the majority of first-time ITE graduates complete bachelors degrees. In 2024, 75 percent of ECE graduates completed an ITE bachelors degree, compared with 73 percent in 2023. In primary ITE, 63 percent of graduates completed a bachelors degree in 2024 (a decrease from 70 percent in 2023), compared with a low point of 51 percent in 2021. In secondary ITE, first-time graduates mainly complete graduate diplomas, postgraduate diplomas and masters degrees. In 2024, 64 percent completed graduate diplomas, 19 percent completed postgraduate diplomas, and 16 percent completed masters degrees.

Universities continue to produce the vast majority of first-time graduates in primary and secondary ITE. In 2024, 83 percent of graduates in primary and 85 percent in secondary were from universities. PTEs now produce the largest number of first-time ECE graduates. In 2024, 64 percent of ECE graduates were from PTEs, compared with 17 percent from universities and 19 percent from Te Pūkenga.

Figure 13: Distribution of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time by type of qualification and indicative teaching sector

Figure 13

Figure 14: Distribution of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time by sub-sector and indicative teaching sector

Figure 14

The number of first-time domestic ITE graduates decreased in all three of the broad regions of study (Auckland, Rest of the North Island, South Island) in 2024. The Rest of the North Island showed the biggest drop in graduates, from 1,280 in 2023 to 1,125 in 2024. The number of graduates decreased by 40 in the South Island between 2023 and 2024 and by just five in Auckland.

In terms of the teaching subject of secondary ITE graduates, seven of the ten broad subject areas had an increase in graduates between 2023 and 2024. The largest increase was in Social Sciences (from 205 in 2023 to 240 in 2024). The broad subject with the largest decrease in graduates was Science (from 125 in 2023 to 110 in 2024).

The largest changes in the distribution of the broad teaching subjects between 2023 and 2024 was an increase in share from 10 percent to 12 percent in Mathematics and Statistics and a decrease in share from 19 percent to 14 percent in Science.

At the more detailed subject level, the data shows the biggest change in numbers related to an increase in graduates in Social Studies (from 135 in 2023 to 170 in 2024) and a decrease in graduates in Biology/Biological Science (from 75 in 2023 to 55 in 2024.

International students completing an ITE qualification for the first time

The number of first-time ITE international graduates with an ITE qualification increased by 81 percent in 2024 to reach 995 (an increase of 445). This large increase reflects the bounce back in international student numbers following COVID. Of these 2024 graduates, 71 percent were in the ECE sector.