Queensland rural schools seeking teachers from overseas to plug critical shortage

Queensland schools are being forced to recruit from overseas or interstate as a critical teacher shortage grips many areas. But even with an influx of outsiders, the problem is predicted to get even worse next year.

HUNDREDS of school teachers have been recruited from overseas and interstate to help plug a critical shortage sweeping parts of regional Queensland.

The Courier-Mail can reveal more than 270 teachers have been hired through the State Government’s interstate and international recruitment campaign to fill the urgent demand in regional, rural and remote areas, where some schools have experienced an almost 100 per cent turnover of staff some years.

But despite the recruitment drive, teacher shortages are predicted to get even worse next year, reaching acute levels in some parts of the state.

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And it’s not just primary and secondary schools facing shortfalls; childcare centres are also struggling to attract and retain qualified teachers.

Queensland Secondary Principals’ Association president Mark Breckenridge said getting enough teachers to rural parts of the state was “a constant challenge”.

“There are a lot of reasons why, and one is that as the southeast corner population continues to grow, it sucks up a lot of the teachers,” he said.

“There are many innovative ways to try to encourage teachers to move, but I don’t think anyone has got a real answer.”

He said principals were fighting to use their scarce resources to get the best results for students in these areas.

A Department of Education spokesman said the interstate and international campaign had recruited more than 200 secondary teachers and more than 70 primary teachers.

“Both beginning and experienced secondary teachers from interstate and overseas have applied to work in Queensland state schools,” he said.

“They are particularly attracted to the mentoring support and career development offered in Queensland.”

Former Roma teacher Maxine Thomas now works for Origin, but was contacted by a “desperate” Injune Children’s Centre in South West Queensland after they could not find a qualified teacher for their small cohort of students.

Maxine Thomas has returned to the Injune Children's Centre, volunteering as the kindergarten's qualified teacher through the Origin Foundation. Picture: Supplied

She now develops the school’s early learning program every two weeks through the Origin Foundation’s skilled volunteering program.

“Injune is only a small town of about 350 people, and the kindy is a focal point of the community,” Ms Thomas said.

“But it’s a huge challenge for them to get and retain quality staff.

“They were desperate – without a qualified teacher, there would be no access to kindergarten, no formal early learning to prepare for school.”

Ms Thomas said when she was contacted by the centre for help she wanted to do what she could, and that she had seen first-hand the reality of the a shortfall of qualified teachers in rural and remote communities.

“In our country, every child has the right – it’s not a privilege, it’s a right – to quality early education,” she said.

“When you’re working with kindergarten age children, you really need that qualified person to develop and implement a program that aligns with the early childhood curriculum that can really streamline the process into prep.”