Australia is among an elite group of the world's most prosperous, stable and democratic societies. How then can the Hunter, and the rest of NSW, be enduring such a dramatic shortage of teachers?
It's not money. Forecasts show we are on track for state and Commonwealth surpluses.Yet department figures lay bare the scale of the challenge.
While economists focus on financial accounts, they miss the social deficit shortchanging our kids and are risking social stability and prosperity. Excluding Newcastle, Hunter schools had 67.5 full-time teaching vacancies in term four last year. A little over 40 per cent of the region's 96 schools had a vacancy. The situation was only slightly better in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, which had 48 full-time vacancies affecting 31 per cent of the region's 118 schools.
These scary numbers don't tell the story of the real-world, human impact. When two classes are collapsed into one, you've got to feel for that teacher. Lesson plans are jettisoned, and the teacher's role starts becoming crowd control. The complex needs or potential of individual students are much harder to attend to, and those with emotional or behavioural issues get less support.
When politicians shortchange schools they aren't saving anything, because the cost bobs up elsewhere. A child that doesn't get remedial literacy support is less likely to develop into a full-time worker who pays taxes. A kid with unmet behavioural or emotional needs who misses out on attention from a teacher or school counsellor could well end up getting attention from the police, and courts.
Short-term decisions have long-term consequences. We need to get across a basic premise: failing to invest in schools and teachers inflames the wider social and economic costs. While the figures released this week are alarming, there is some good news. The salary agreement recently inked between teachers and the Minns government is an historic advance towards ending the teacher shortage and giving all students the start in life they deserve. It increases starting and top-of-scale salaries for NSW teachers by more than $9000, making NSW teachers the best paid in the country. But this alone will not fix the teacher shortage crisis. We have had a decade of wage suppression, uncompetitive salaries relative to other professions, a blowout in precarious employment and workloads, and under-resourcing.
This needs urgent action. Work must continue to ensure teacher salaries are competitive and unmanageable workloads and insecure employment are addressed. The Premier must deliver on his election promise to cut teachers' admin hours. The recent NSW People Matter Employee Survey indicated two-thirds of teachers feel burned out by their work. Only one in five say they have the time to do their job well.
The National School Reform Agreement has left NSW with a funding shortfall of about 14 per cent, translating to a staggering $1.9 billion. This equates to more than 10,000 permanent teachers. Plugging this hole would be transformative. This is where the Prime Minister needs to step up. Increased recurrent funding and expanded staffing would mean smaller class sizes and more one-on-one time for students with complex needs. Equitable distribution would focus on areas of greatest need, broaden the curriculum, and provide necessary infrastructure.
The status quo of private schools building equestrian centres and Olympic pools while public schools struggle with below standard facilities must end. A fully resourced public school system would address the needs of many, many more students, including those identified across key areas of equity (Aboriginal background, socioeconomic status background, disability, English language proficiency), intersecting disadvantage and those impacted by a school's location in remote and rural areas of the state.
Almost half of private school parents polled would choose public education if the resources were available. School returns this week, in what may well be an election year. Properly resourced public education allows kids to explode out of the starter blocks and make the most of themselves, their community and the nation. That's in everyone's interest.
