LESSONS NOT LEARNT
Internal doc says ‘NSW will run out of teachers in the next five years’
A WAR of words and data has erupted between the NSW Education Department and the NSW Teachers Federation after a Dubbo Photo News article published in last week’s newspaper.
A spokesperson for education minister Sarah Mitchell had sent some ‘answers’ back to this newspaper in a response to a series of questions we’d put to the minister’s office – he claimed our questions were not “correct in their premise”.
It’s a concept popularised by prime minister Scott Morrison which has caused political opponents and media commentators to assert that it’s political double-speak for ‘I don’t want to answer your question’.
The department sent me a list of comments aimed at disputing the Dubbo Photo News articles which pointed to a disastrous looming teacher shortage.
Regarding current teacher shortages, an Education Department spokesperson said: “More than 3400 teachers have already been recruited as part of the NSW Government’s 2019 commitment to add 4600 teachers to the workforce. The Teacher Supply Strategy will add about another 3700 teachers to the public education system in NSW.”
NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos responded: “NSW is at risk of running out of teachers within five years due to chronic shortages, plummeting graduate numbers, rising (school student) enrolments and an ageing workforce, according to confidential government documents.”
Unfortunately for the Education Department, Dubbo Photo News has obtained an internal departmental document which refutes the claim that there’s no crisis.
Indeed the document is titled “NSW will run out of teachers in the next 5 years”.
On the question of teacher supply, the department said the 2020/21 budget committed $124.8 million over four years for initiatives including growing the overall supply of teachers, encouraging more teachers to upskill and provide targeted support in areas of need.
The departmental spokesperson said the first part of the strategy is to bring more people into teaching, including through recruitment and new opportunities for more people to become teachers without compromising quality.
“The second part will deepen expertise and increase the number of teachers in specialist roles through scholarships and retraining opportunities for existing staff.
“The third part will ensure there are great teachers in the right places, where students most
need them, drawing on the recent Review of Rural and Remote Incentives in NSW Public Schools, along with other initiatives.”
Mr Gavrielatos said that’s simply not the case.
“Not only is the government trying to cover up the scale of the teacher shortages, it has no evidence-based plan to tackle them or deliver the additional 11,000 teachers that NSW will require, at a minimum, over the next decade,” Mr Gavrielatos said, pointing out that the reason teachers are going on strike in many western NSW schools is because of an acute lack of teachers, which makes a mockery of the government’s claims.
The department claims teachers’ wages and working conditions aren’t an issue.
“NSW teachers’ salaries are competitive both nationally and internationally,” the spokesperson said.
“Other aspects, such as release from teaching time, are also comparable to those provided to teachers working in public education in other States and Territories.
“As at 1 January 2021, NSW public school teachers at the top of the salary scale were paid an annual salary of $107,779. Teachers accredited at Highly Accomplished/ Lead receive an annual salary of $114,720.”
Angelo Gavrielatos says salary levels are reducing the attractiveness of the profession and contributing to shortages and claims the government’s own secret documents show the Education Department is well aware of that.
“The salary ceiling and perceptions regarding career trajectory may be impeding choices to become a teacher. The demands and expectations on teachers are increasing, while the current rewards, pathways, and learning opportunities are not providing enough incentive,” a quote, Mr Gavrielatos said, comes from a leaked 2020 government document.
“On average, teacher pay has been falling relative to pay in other professions since the late 1980s and this makes it a less attractive profession for high achieving students.”
Mr Gavrielatos says principals and deputies work 62 hours each week and classroom teachers 55 hours, with an average of 14.9 hours spent on administration and compliance, with eight of those working hours performed at home.
“Those hours spent on compliance and administration far exceed the Australian and international averages,” he said.
“They are also far above what is required in the countries that are held up as the higher performers in education.
“In Singapore, teachers, on average, do 3.8 hours of admin work a week. In Alberta in Canada its 2.4 hours.
“In Finland, teachers do 1.1 hours of administrative work a week.”