Loading
Victorian Principal Association Executive Director Andrew Dalgleish said there was a shortage of teaching staff in the Victoria region and in the northern and western suburbs of Melbourne, and the need to attract more students to careers. teachers.
“We are still talking about raising the status of the profession as a way to attract more [people into teaching]but it doesn’t seem to be going as fast as we would like, “he said.
Anthony Rodaughan, principal at Kurnai College in Morwell, said the school had a harder time filling teaching positions this year than ever before.
“We don’t get any applicants for the positions we advertise. English, humanities, we usually get several candidates, and we don’t have any,” he said.
Staff shortages had been exacerbated by illness and absenteeism, with about 30 teachers out at one point in the first quarter, he said. The high number of absences forced non-sick staff to take on additional duties, leaving them exhausted as the second quarter approached.
“Teachers who are not sick are taking extra classes, so their energy levels are falling,” he said. “The whole place is getting thinner and thinner, so some people need a day of mental health, they just need to get out, and that leaves a hole that someone else has to fill, so they can exhale.”
Rodaughan said the department supported the schools as best it could.
Catholic schools in the Victoria region suffer from a similar shortage.
Darren Egberts, principal of Sacred Heart College in Kyneton and president of the Victorian Catholic High School Principal Association, said the shortage of teachers in regional schools was “terrible” and “one of the most serious problems I’ve ever had.” seen in my time “.
Loading
He predicted that if it continues in the term, three more schools could use the combination of classes or direct some students to learn from home.
“For general schools, our first port of call for substitute teachers is our CRT [casual relief teacher] actions or teachers recently retired, and as people have chosen not to return or leave the profession after COVID, these actions have diminished. “
Egberts said Catholic schools in more remote parts of the state, such as the Northwest, had even more difficulty attracting new teachers because they could not afford the department’s financial incentives.
Melbourne-based teachers who are prepared for a long-term transfer to a regional government school can receive up to $ 50,000 in down payments.
A spokesman for the Department of Education said paying teachers for relief a daily fee for travel, accommodation and meals to provide short-term support was only part of their efforts to help schools.
He said 15 teachers were sent to Shepparton, Wodonga and Wangaratta schools during the first two weeks of the program.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the most important and interesting stories, analysis, and insights of the day. Register here.