Addressing teacher shortages: more action needed

With almost 2000 full-time teacher positions unfilled, there are calls for more to be done to address teacher shortages.

The New South Wales Teachers Federation is urging the NSW Government to tackle the problems, with NSW Education Department figures suggesting that 175 high schools are struggling to find English and mathematics teachers.

The Acting President of the NSW Teachers Federation, Henry Rajendra, said the widespread vacancies showed the need for more action from the state government.

"The full scale of the teacher shortage has been laid bare, with the state suffering from the corrosive consequences of the coalition's wage cap," he said.

"Addressing the teacher shortage must be the highest priority of the Minns government in order to give our students the best public education they deserve.

"The government cannot ignore the fundamental factors that have contributed to the teacher shortages. Work must continue to ensure teacher salaries are competitive and unmanageable workloads and insecure employment are addressed. This includes the urgent need for the Premier to deliver on his election promise to cut teachers' admin hours.

"The previous government failed across all these areas and remains responsible for the teacher shortages across NSW public schools. It is now up to the Minns government to focus on the work necessary to restore the attractiveness of the profession.

"NSW public schools must also be fully funded to 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS), which is the minimum level agreed to as necessary for meeting student needs over a decade ago.

"The Albanese government needs to ensure it doesn't fall short of providing this crucial funding to NSW."

Image credit: iStock.com/iQoncept