World Teachers’ Day is Friday 29 October and a day where we thank our educators at Excelsia College and across Australia for their tireless efforts in supporting students. The added layer of complexity with teaching online should not go unrecognised during the pandemic. Teachers play a fundamental role in shaping minds and have the potential to encourage more students to become passionate educators. Sadly, a Sydney Morning Herald article (Baker, 2021) has highlighted the nationwide shortage of teachers. As the article notes according to confidential NSW Department of Education documents, Australia could be running out of teachers within the next five years.

 

By 2024, approximately 28 per cent of Department of Education teachers are predicted to be ready for retirement, whilst 5 per cent leave to pursue other professions. And while there is an increase in school enrolments, there has been a sharp decline in students signing up for university education degrees (Baker, 2021). As school enrolment rates increase, an estimated 11,000 teachers are required to break enrolment growth even over the next decade (Baker, 2021).

 

NSW Government is addressing these concerns by injecting $124.8 million over the next four years to a teacher supply strategy (Baker, 2021). The aim is to recruit an extra 4,600 teachers over this time frame. This will increase incentives for teachers to work in regional areas, make mid-career moves to teaching easier, and source STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teachers from overseas.

 

Teachers are highly sought after and play such a vital role in childhood development. Are you passionate about educating the future generation or feeling like a career change? It’s never too late to consider teaching. Excelsia College offers a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education, Master of Teaching (Primary), Master of Teaching (Secondary) and Master of Education Research (STEM).

Which teacher can you say thank you to today?

 

 

References

Baker, J. (2021). Public school teacher shortages raise fears they will run out of teachers. Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/public-school-teacher-shortage-raises-fears-they-will-run-out-of-teachers-20211003-p58wtq.html