The Australian Education Union (AEU) Victorian Branch has called on Premier Daniel Andrews to urgently tackle the teacher shortage crisis experienced across Victoria’s public schools.
In an open letter published in the Herald Sun and The Age, the AEU Victorian Branch said it presented its 10-year plan for staffing in public education to Andrews over 12 months ago. The plan provided the government with short, medium, and long-term strategies to address Victoria’s teacher shortage crisis.
According to AEU Victorian Branch President Meredith Peace, the government has not taken significant steps to address the shortages despite early warnings.
The open letter comes as teacher and staff vacancies for public schools in the state hit record numbers on 15th August, with 2,255 jobs posted on the education department’s vacancies website.
Peace said the AEU has emailed all government members of parliament for four consecutive days last week, telling them the current number of vacancies listed and asking them to take action.
“Public teachers, principals and education support staff can no longer be expected to continue to spread themselves so thinly,” Peace said.
“It is time for bold and urgent action from the state government to ensure Victoria has a stable supply of teachers, principals and support staff in the public school system now and well into the future,” she added.