The New England North West is short some 90 teachers in a "staffing crisis" that has left schools forced to cancel excursions and amalgamate classes.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
About 5 per cent of teaching positions in the region are vacant in a shortage so severe it constitutes a "crisis", the Teachers' Federation claims.
The Department of Education contests the rate is at the state average of 2 per cent, but admitted in a statement this week that about 90 positions were unfilled across the region.
READ MORE:
Teachers' Federation Country Organiser Mercurius Goldstein said the shortage had forced one school to "collapse" classes 301 times in a single school term.
"As we've reported from Narrabri High School, it means in Term 2 they had to collapse classrooms on 301 occasions, offer minimal supervision or combine classes," he said.
"And cancel a whole range of excursions, agricultural and sporting activities, academic and creative arts and performing activities, I might add all prior to the outbreak of the pandemic.
"Very valued and treasured educational opportunities, and community activities that the school would normally participate in simply couldn't be covered.
"It's an unsustainable situation. It's the department letting down the right of those students to a comprehensive high school education."
Mr Golstein said smaller schools could be affected by shortages even more dramatically - one missing teacher in a three-teacher school could be a far more serious problem, he said.
Government should use Commonwealth Gonski funding to employ an extra teacher as a permanent backup for temporary staffing holes, he said.
"That can be achieved now with the budget that the education department has. That's what teachers are calling for, it's what parents want to see, they want to see a qualified teacher for their child every day," he said.
The Gallop Inquiry, a report commissioned by the Teachers' Federation, recommended exactly that.
The Department of Education, which acknowledged about 90 positions were unfilled in the region, claimed the rate was at the state average.
"There are currently approximately 90 teacher vacancies in North West NSW, which represents only 2 per cent of the overall workforce in the region," a spokesperson said.
"So, the North West is not adversely impacted by teacher vacancies compared to the rest of the state."
Mr Goldstein said union figures were slightly higher than the state government's 90 teacher vacancy figure, but that probably reflects different boundaries.
He said the region has about 1800 teachers in it, implying a vacancy rate of about 5 per cent.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the union was "agitating ahead of award negotiations" and using "deliberately misleading tactics".
"There is no overall 'teacher shortage' in NSW, with current vacancy rates representing less than 2 per cent of the overall workforce," an education spokesperson said.
"However, there is no denying it is more difficult to attract teachers to regional parts of the state."
Mr Goldstein said staffing wasn't an award issue, and that the union and government had already signed a staffing agreement in May.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News