Public servant hiring spree hits our schools

THE Department of Education and Training employed more public servants in the past year than it did teachers.

The number of public servants hired exploded by 18 per cent in a year, adding 411 fulltime staff at a minimum cost of $38 million.

Meanwhile, the government employed only 370 extra principals and teachers — an increase of less than 1 per cent.

A News Corp analysis of government employment figures found a further five executives were hired at the department in the 2018 financial year, which added $854,000 — $1.3 million to the wages bill.

Three new level-two execu- tives were hired at a maximum salary of $330,582. Victoria’s premier earns $377,624.

If the additional public servants and executives earned the highest wage bracket for their grading, the bill for 416 staff would reach almost $50 million.

By the end of June, the department will have more than 2800 executives and public servants. It forecasts adding a further 100 public servants next year.

Victoria will have 44,588 teachers and principals by June, adding another 2 per cent or 961 staff the year after.

A total of 21 schools have opened since 2017 and a further 49 are in the pipeline.

A Department of Education spokesman said that of its public servants, 1600 were regional support staff and 600 were student support service officers who “work in schools or directly with them”.

“The staff also help to reduce the administrative burden of the reforms,” he said. “When you make a $10 billion investment in education you will obviously need more staff.”

The spokesman said that between 2015 and 2019, the number of principals and teachers was expected to rise by 10 per cent.

“We expect this rise to continue as more new schools are opened,” he said.

Opposition education spokesman Tim Smith labelled the government’s “education state” as a “bonanza for bureaucrats, with fat cat executives paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each”.

“This extra money could be used to reward our best teachers, improve literacy and numeracy standards, improve existing schools, or build new ones,” Mr Smith said.

Education Minister James Merlino did not respond to a request for comment.

“When you make a $10 billion investment in education you will obviously need more staff.” DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SPOKESMAN