A National Ministry of Education survey has shown a decline in the number of teacher vacancies at Otago schools, but the Post Primary Teachers' Association is querying the accuracy of those statistics.
The ministry's 2009 Teacher Vacancy Survey showed there were 329.5 Full-Time Teacher Equivalent (FTTE) vacancies in schools nationally, 10 of which were reported in Otago schools.
Of the vacancies in Otago, 4.5 were in secondary schools and 5.5 were in primary schools.
Otago's 2010 statistics show improvement with schools in the region reporting 7.0 FTTE vacancies.
Nationally, the figures have decreased to 185.6 in 2010.
Of the seven vacancies in Otago this year, three FTTE vacancies were in secondary schools and four FTTE vacancies were in primary schools.
The three secondary school vacancies equated to one in English, one in technology (resistant materials) and one in visual art.
University of Otago College of Education Primary Programming director Clare Church said Otago had a relatively low number of FTTE vacancies because beginning teacher positions in the greater Dunedin area were highly sought after by graduates of the college.
"There are far more candidates wanting positions in the greater Dunedin area than there are positions available.
"That's one of the reasons we have a low number of vacancies."
However, Post Primary Teachers' Association president Kate Gainsford is calling for an independent look into school staffing vacancies because she believes the Ministry of Education is underestimating staffing levels in schools.
She said the ministry's claims that 99.6% of teaching positions were filled were based on inaccurate figures from a flawed survey.
The ministry survey was based on roll predictions given to schools in September the previous year, and this year the ministry seriously underestimated the staffing in 74% of secondary schools, she said.
"That is 572 equivalent teaching positions.
"The ministry's survey provided a very limited picture of the staffing shortages in schools and did not monitor whether a position had been appropriately filled, or even filled at all," she said.
"It also did not count situations where a school has given up advertising the position and dropped a particular subject."
Ms Gainsford spoke to principals in South Canterbury yesterday and found teachers in some schools were having to "divide up and pick up" jobs to cover vacant teaching positions.
"Some of these schools have stopped advertising.
They are trying to manage it in the short term because they've advertised but they haven't had suitable applicants.
"Does the ministry count these schools in their statistics?"The PPTA has called for an independent body to properly ascertain the staffing situation in New Zealand schools.
Ms Gainsford said if this was done independently, then neither the ministry nor PPTA would have to conduct surveys.
Ministry of Education workforce group manager Fiona McTavish disagreed the survey was flawed.
"We've used the Teacher Vacancy Survey since 1997 and it gives an accurate picture of vacancies at the start of each school year," she said.
