National Party education spokesperson Nikki Kaye has criticised the Government's overseas teachers recruitment drive.

Only 240 teachers have been hired out of more than 9000 applications, and principals have told Newshub they don't think the people being suggested for roles are up to scratch.

"I want to see passion, I want to see confidence, I want to see high quality qualifications," Glendowie college principal Richard Dyke told Newshub.

"Just to say you have got a thousand qualified teachers doesn't automatically mean you have a thousand quality teachers."

Ms Kaye told Newshub it's clear the programme is a mess and needs a rethink.

"They've got people who have applied, but haven't even been interviewed. That's problematic," she said.

"We need to have a larger workforce development strategy for New Zealand that looks at pay, workload and the reasons why people are leaving teaching."

She said she was concerned about the programme, considering how many applicants there have been that haven't been hired.

"My concern is that the Government has gone out there and said we're going to have a whole lot of overseas teachers, but they haven't worked through all of the applications that they've got.

"But also it's pretty clear that not all the people are appropriate for some of the jobs."

Ministry of Education deputy secretary early learning and student achievement Ellen MacGregor-Reid defended the programme.

"All of the teachers that we have ready to be interviewed are qualified and they meet New Zealand standards," she said.

"The same standards as New Zealand teachers."

Newshub.