Hundreds of student teachers given special permission to work in classrooms across SA due to teacher shortage

Student teachers are being called on to take classes at schools across SA amid a shortage of educators. See the list of where it’s happening.

• Country schools outranking elite colleges

Student teachers are increasingly being called on to lead classes before they are fully qualified as principals struggle to recruit experienced staff.

For the first time The Advertiser can reveal which schools are relying most heavily on student teachers who could, in some cases, be as young as 19.

The number of exemptions allowing university students to work in public and private schools before they have finished their degrees has been rising steadily since the Covid-19 pandemic prompted many experienced teachers to retire early or switch careers.

At one northern suburbs school this year there are seven learner educators on staff.

The education minister says they are gaining “valuable” paid job experience and the majority go on to full-time teaching roles.

However, the trend has prompted warnings from unions about higher rates of “burnout” and resignations among educators on exemptions.

Last year the Teachers’ Registration Board (TRB) granted 595 special authority to teach (SAT) exemptions, up from 69 in 2019.

They allow second, third or fourth year university students to work in a school as if they were already a registered teacher.

A list of schools released by the TRB, following inquiries from The Advertiser, shows Craigmore High School with the highest number of SAT teachers on staff this year at seven, followed by Pinnacle College in Elizabeth (4), and St Joseph’s School in Peterborough, Mt Gambier High School and IQRA College in O’Halloran Hill (3).

The list features schools where exemptions have been granted for an advertised vacancy but does not include relief teacher or specialist roles, such as music or mathematics teaching.

The TRB could not provide a breakdown of the age of those granted exemptions.

Education Minister Blair Boyer said the exemptions provided “valuable work experience to students in a paid capacity” and “insights into the profession that will help prepare them for their career”.

He said SAT teachers received “a huge amount of support” including a mentor, release time to observe other teachers and shared teaching time.

Mr Boyer said SA’s public schools had fewer teaching vacancies than interstate (57 at the start of 2025) and the government had introduced incentives including more permanent roles, bonuses for country placements and more time out of the classroom for planning.

Teacher Curtis Booth, right, pictured with principal Sarah Jackson, began working as a special authority teacher at Craigmore High School in 2023. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Australian Education Union SA branch vice president Sadie Gent said SAT teachers “have a huge workload” balancing teaching and completing university studies and raised concerns many “will become burnt out from these unsustainable workloads before they become qualified”.

Independent Education Union SA branch secretary Tim Oosterbaan said student teachers were “reporting burnout” and “leaving the profession earlier than those who complete their studies and then enter employment”.

Opposition education spokeswoman Heidi Girolamo said it was “frightening that students in just their second year of university” could take on “almost the full responsibility of a university qualified teacher”.