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 2026

There was an increase in first-time domestic ITE graduates in 2025 compared to 2024. The number of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time increased from 3,115 in 2024 to 3,190 in 2024 (an increase of 2.4% or 75 graduates). When looking at the indicative teaching sector this was the result of:

There was an increase in first-time domestic ITE graduates in 2025 compared to 2024. The number of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time increased from 3,115 in 2024 to 3,190 in 2024 (an increase of 2.4% or 75 graduates). When looking at the indicative teaching sector this was the result of:

  • a decrease in early childhood (ECE) ITE graduates from 1,035 graduates in 2024 to 970 graduates in 2025 (a decrease of 6.3% or 65 graduates)
  • an increase in primary ITE graduates from 1,290 graduates in 2024 to 1,310 graduates in 2025 (an increase of 1.6% or 20 graduates)
  • an increase in secondary ITE graduates from 785 graduates in 2024 to 890 graduates in 2025 (an increase of 13% or 105 graduates)

There was also an increase of Māori medium ITE graduates from 135 in 2024 to 150 in 2025 (these graduates are already included in the sector data above).

The decrease in ECE ITE graduates in 2025 reflects lower enrolments seen in these qualifications following the COVID-related peak in participation in 2021.The number of graduates in 2025 (970) remains above the low point of 945 in 2019.

Graduate numbers in primary ITE increased slightly between 2024 and 2025 but remain below what was seen in the years immediately prior to COVID. Although the number of students starting ITE was up significantly in 2025, most of the students study bachelor’s degrees, so it will take time for the increase in enrolments to flow through to graduates.

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 in 2025 reflected an increase in enrolments over the same period. The number of graduates in 2025 was above what was seen in the years immediately prior to COVID.

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 2026, 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

2025

ECE

1,035

1,380

1,440

1,760

1,755

1,775

2,070

2,110

2,025

1,665

1,380

1,130

1,090

945

945

1,005

1,240

1,135

1,165

1,035

970

Primary

1,730

1,885

1,950

1,760

1,920

1,675

2,080

2,085

1,925

1,885

1,630

1,475

1,505

1,500

1,525

1,390

1,830

1,470

1,500

1,290

1,310

Secondary

1,145

1,210

1,120

1,065

1,200

1,105

1,190

1,045

860

875

805

765

865

880

835

825

1,020

820

685

785

890

Unknown

70

50

40

20

10

10

10

5

5

10

5

5

5

5

0

5

5

10

15

5

15

Total

3,750

4,295

4,340

4,400

4,670

4,475

5,255

5,135

4,715

4,365

3,785

3,330

3,450

3,320

3,310

3,225

4,095

3,435

3,365

3,115

3,190

Māori medium

The number of first-time graduates from Māori medium ITE qualifications increased in 2025 following a decrease the previous year (see Table 2). The number of graduates increased from 135 in 2024 to 150 in 2025. This compares with 165 graduates in 2023 and 150 graduates in 2022. Because of the small numbers involved, the Māori medium graduate numbers can exhibit considerable variation between years. In 2025, 63% of graduates were from immersion programmes.

In 2025, 77% of graduates were in primary sector programmes.

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 older in the ECE sector over the last seven years. The proportion of ECE graduates aged under 35 years has decreased from 72% in 2018 to 64% in 2025. The proportion of graduates aged under 35 in primary ITE reached 74% in 2025, the lowest since 2013. In secondary ITE, the proportion of graduates aged under 35 has decreased from 83% in 2015 to 65% in 2025.

First-time graduates in the ECE sector were almost exclusively women (97% in 2025). Women were relatively smaller proportions, but still majorities, of primary (84% in 2025) and secondary (58% in 2025) sector graduates.

In 2025, the proportion of ITE graduates who were Māori increased in one of the three teaching sectors. In ECE, the proportion of Māori graduates remained unchanged at 14% in 2025. The proportion of Māori graduates in primary ITE decreased from 26% in 2024 to 24% in 2025, while the proportion of Māori graduates in the secondary sector increased from 13% in 2024 to 16% in 2025. Of the three teaching sectors, primary ITE (24%) had the highest proportion of Māori graduates in 2025.

The low number of first-time graduates who are Pacific Peoples makes identifying trends difficult. In 2025, the proportion of graduates who were Pacific Peoples increased slightly in the ECE sector, while remaining relatively unchanged in the primary and secondary sectors. In the ECE sector, the proportion of Pacific Peoples increased from 8.7% in 2024 to 9.8% in 2025. In 2025, the proportion was 8.8% in the primary sector and 8.4% in the secondary sector. In 2025, the proportion of Pacific Peoples was roughly the same in all three teaching sectors (9.8% in ECE, 8.8% in primary and 8.4% 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 2025, 67% of ECE graduates completed an ITE bachelors degree, compared with 74% in 2024. In primary ITE, 53% of graduates completed a bachelors degree in 2025 (a decrease from 64% in 2024), compared with a low point of 51% in 2021. In secondary ITE, first-time graduates mainly complete graduate diplomas, postgraduate diplomas and masters degrees. In 2025, 67% completed graduate diplomas, 17% completed postgraduate diplomas, and 15% completed masters degrees.

Universities continue to produce the vast majority of first-time graduates in primary and secondary ITE. In 2025, 79% of graduates in primary and 74% in secondary were from universities. PTEs now produce the largest number of first-time ECE graduates. In 2025, 62% of ECE graduates were from PTEs, compared with 18% from universities and 20% from polytechnics.

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 increased in all three of the broad regions of study (Auckland, Rest of the North Island, South Island) in 2025. The South Island showed the biggest percentage increase in graduates between 2024 and 2025 (6.5%), followed by Auckland (3.7%) and the Rest of the North Island (1.8%).

In terms of the teaching subject of secondary ITE graduates, nine of the ten broad subject areas had an increase in graduates between 2024 and 2025. The largest increase was in Social Sciences (from 245 in 2024 to 300 in 2025). The broad subject that saw a decrease in graduates was Technology which went from 120 graduates in 2024 to 115 in 2025.

The largest changes in share of graduates between 2024 and 2025 were in Science (from 14% to 17%) and Social Sciences (from 31% to 34%).

At the more detailed subject level, the data shows the biggest change in numbers related to an increase in graduates in Science/General science (from 70 in 2024 to 105 in 2025) and History (from 65 in 2024 to 100 in 2025).

International students completing an ITE qualification for the first time

The number of first-time ITE international graduates with an ITE qualification increased by 19% in 2025 to reach 1,185 (an increase of 190). This followed a large increase the previous year and reflects the bounce back in international student numbers following COVID. Of these 2025 graduates, 75% were in the ECE sector.