A think-tank says the Government could raise the quality of teaching by copying places including Singapore, Finland and England.
In a report published on Wednesday, The New Zealand Initiative, a free-market think-tank has assessed how other countries recruit, train and pay their teachers.
It says teaching needs to be seen as a career, not a vocation, and it highlights countries where teachers must have masters degrees and are paid more if they are particularly good at their job.
It says this country has not harnessed the full potential of its teaching workforce and would do better if more bright people were to become teachers.
