Education Department tells schools not to reveal teacher shortage data

School principals have been ordered not to disclose information about teacher absences or vacancies, it can be revealed, with the union labelling the move a cover up.

The Department of Education has been slammed for trying to “silence” schools on a critical staff shortage, after it ordered them not to publicly disclose information about teacher absences or vacancies.

The demand was made in an email to all NSW public school principals, after a ­Saturday Telegraph article last weekend revealed one school had been left with 12 unsupervised classes amid the shortage.

“Data collected by schools and/or the department in relation to operational matters should not be shared with ­outside parties or publicly on social media platforms,” the email said.

“This includes staffing or vacancy numbers as well as staff or student absences.

“We have been made aware of a number of instances of ­inappropriate sharing of data.

NSW schools have been ordered not to share data revealing the extent of teacher shortages.

“While we acknowledge the pressures that Covid-19 and the flu season are placing on our schools and system, in many cases the data published is unfortunately inaccurate and misleading and does not take into account the context of the school.”

The email, seen by The Saturday Telegraph, was sent on Thursday by Leanne Nixon and Murat Dizdar, the deputy secretaries of school performance for NSW north and south.

It warned privacy laws may be breached if staff disclosed the data without authorisation.

It comes after The Saturday Telegraph revealed the impact of teacher shortages on classrooms.

But NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said the Department of Education should instead focus on improving pay and conditions for teachers.

“We’ve got a government and a department that is investing energy into trying to ­silence teachers and principals, when that energy would be better directed to addressing the teacher shortage and its underlying consequences,” Mr Gavrielatos said.

“Every single day hundreds of classes are being disrupted and, as a result, student learning is being interrupted.

NSW Teachers Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Damian Shaw

“They can attempt to suppress this information but it’s futile because ultimately kids are going home and telling their parents that they didn’t have a teacher.”

In a statement, a Department of Education spokesman confirmed the email had been sent to all public schools.

“An email was sent to schools reminding staff of their obligations for handling data securely and responsibly,” the spokesman said.

“Similar reminders are sent to schools regularly about a wide range of operational, teaching and learning and ­policy matters.

“It is not appropriate and is against department policy for staff to provide operational data to external parties without authorisation.”