Nearly 400 SA schools will either close or offer altered lessons over teacher strike

172 SA schools – five more than the previous strike – will close on Thursday with hundreds more forced to offer alternative plans. See which schools are affected.

Hundreds of SA schools will be forced to close their doors or offer altered classes when teachers strike on Thursday, during SACE exams.

The Australian Education Union resolved to strike last week after turning down the government’s offer of a compounding 4 per cent increase over the first year, followed by 3 per cent in the second year and 2.5 per cent in year three.

The Education Department has revealed 172 public schools or preschools will close – five more than previous strike action – and 201 will have to offer a modified program.

The remaining 554 sites will be open as normal, or already had a planned pupil free day on Thursday.

The numbers still fell short of the AEU’s demand of between 5.5 and 8.6 per cent per year until 2026, which Education Minister Blair Boyer said was “impossible from day one”.

Mr Boyer said the department was “as prepared as it could be” ahead of strike action, with communication being sent to parents by Tuesday evening.

He urged impacted parents to make alternative arrangements or speak to their school leadership.

Roughly 1000 public school students undertaking SACE physics and accounting exams on Thursday were reassured that testing would still take place at school, with additional support staff.

“Even if the school itself is closed, we have put arrangements in place so there is no disruption there,” he said.

Education Minister Blair Boyer said he was “shocked” the union went ahead with strike action. Picture: Emma Brasier

Highbury Primary School is one of the 172 sites forced to close on Thursday, with parents told the school’s OSHC would be available for impacted families — at their own cost.

Mr Boyer said he was “shocked” to hear strike action would be going ahead after the state government returned the state’s “largest ever” offer to the union on Monday.

“The union is sticking to its guns asking for pay increases, particularly in the first year, that the government budget just can‘t sustain – particularly considering that ambos received 2.5 per cent and nurses received 3 per cent,” he said.

“We are bending over backwards here, and I don‘t like the fact that there is strike action on Thursday.”

He said union claims that the government’s latest offer would leave educators worse off were “categorically wrong”.

Mr Boyer said the additional one hour of administration and lesson planning time demanded by teachers was on the cards, but would take at least seven years to phase in.

“By the time it‘s fully phased in, it is more than $70m extra per year to deliver the extra hour of non instructional time for teachers. It comes at a real cost … because to deliver that non-instructional time without reducing class time, we have to recruit about 500 more teachers.”

Australian Education Union SA Branch President Andrew Gohl. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Thousands of educators walked off the job during previous strike action on September 1, forcing the closure of 167 public schools and preschools.

A further 152 schools had to modify classes, while 608 sites stayed open as normal or had a planned pupil free day.

In his last public statement, AEU SA branch president Andrew Gohl said strike action was “not just about pay, but securing a set of working conditions that ensure our educators can provide the very best for their students.”

“Anyone reasonable would agree that 3 per cent is insufficient in the current economic climate when educators haven’t had a pay rise since May last year,” Mr Gohl said.

“This is about priorities, and when the Premier can find $2bn for submarines and $450m for a university merger, we should not accept that public education and our students aren’t worth the same investment.”