Teacher shortage leaves Armidale school with 12 unsupervised classes

One NSW high school was short 16 teachers on a single day this week, resulting in 12 unsupervised and nine merged classes, according to the Teachers Association.

One high school had 12 classes without teachers on Monday, according to the Teachers Federation, which claimed it was a snapshot of the state’s ongoing teacher shortage.

Armidale Secondary College recorded 16 teachers absent who could not be replaced Monday, resulting in 12 classes without any teachers, nine merged classes and three classes learning from the school’s library, the union said.

However the Education Department has disputed those figures.

Armidale’s Teachers Federation president Michael Sciffer said the situation was dire but not unusual.

“It’s the same everyday,” Mr Sciffer said.

“If teachers are sick or at training there’s just no one to cover those vacancies.

“At a primary school level parents know more about what’s going on because their children will come home and tell them but, at a secondary level, I think they would be surprised to hear just how severe this situation has become.”

From left: Michael Sciffer, Deborah Moore and Bernard O'Baoill say the school had 12 classes without teachers on one day. Picture: David Elkins

Mr Sciffer claimed 66 lesson preparation hours were also lost on Monday by teachers forced to stand in for others.

“We simply do not have time to prepare the quality learning that we want to prepare when that time is taken away, and it really undermines the education we provide, particularly when it comes to adjusting lessons for students with various needs,” he said.

“Meanwhile when classes have been merged the students aren’t really getting a lesson in that situation, what’s being provided is purely supervision.”

But a Department spokeswoman disputed those figures.

“Armidale Secondary College currently has access to 12 casuals,” the spokeswoman said.

“Large numbers of staff calling in sick at the same time due to a local outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic is a challenge currently facing all employers.”

Armidale Secondary College recorded 16 teachers absent in just one day. Picture: David Elkins

Data released earlier this year revealed thousands of NSW teachers were considering walking away from the job for good, due to crippling workloads and poor pay.

The issue reached a boiling point this month when thousands of teachers went on strike for better conditions.

“The government needs to recognise not only the anger of teachers and parents, but also the disruption to students, their learning and their futures,” NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said.

“Addressing the teacher shortage can only be done by way of addressing uncompetitive salaries and unsustainable workloads.”

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said allocating more administration time for teachers was part of her ongoing plan to improve conditions.

“Of more than 107 full time positions, Armidale Secondary College currently has just two permanent vacancies, a vacancy rate of under two per cent,” Ms Mitchell said.

“Creating more time for teachers to prepare their lessons is something I have explicitly tasked the Department Secretary with doing.

“I have set a target of decreasing the volume of low-level tasks completed by teachers by 20 per cent.”

The state government is expected to address teacher salaries alongside other public sector pay disputes in next month’s budget announcement.