The Teaching Council is asking the government to close schools and daycare centres immediately in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The call comes in an open letter from the council's chief executive, Lesley Hoskin, to the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, asking for the alert level to be raised to its maximum - level four.
Many parents around the country are already taking matters into their own hands, keeping children at home.
RNZ's Education correspondent, John Gerritsen, speaks to Māni Dunlop.
