The state government claims almost all public schools in central Victoria are at staff capacity, despite growing concerns teachers are at breaking point with unsustainable workloads.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At the halfway mark of the 2023 school year, the government says most schools in the Bendigo region are not struggling with staffing levels.
"The majority of government schools across the region have staffing at capacity, and school program delivery is continuing as usual," a spokesperson for the Department of Education said.
MORE NEWS:
"The majority of government schools across the region have staffing at capacity, and school program delivery is continuing as usual," they said.
The spokesperson said Victoria as a whole is advancing well ahead of other states in recruiting and employing teachers.
"The number of teachers in Victoria has grown at twice the national average and that's no accident - we're delivering a range of initiatives that have grown our workforce by 5000 extra teachers between 2020 and 2022," they said.
This claim of robust staffing numbers comes despite dozens of Bendigo region teaching roles in both primary and senior schools being advertised across job platforms.
Late last month the Australian Education Union released a survey which found 'unsustainable workloads' brought on by staffing shortages were affecting teachers and their ability to perform.
READ NOW:
"Workloads for Victorian public school principals have been unmanageable for many years, and the role and expectations of principals is entirely unsustainable," union president Meredith Peace said.
"The chronic teacher shortage in our state, on top of existing workload and other challenges, has forced principals to shoulder additional teaching and administrative responsibilities, pushing them to the brink of burnout and quitting the profession."
The Victorian state government budget funds multiple initiatives to attract more people to the profession, including $32.2 million to provide support for pre-service teachers undertaking their placements in rural and regional schools.
Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with the Bendigo Advertiser app. Click here to download.
