Victorian high schools in crisis as growing number of teachers quit the classroom

Victorian high schools are struggling to keep teachers in classrooms, with the number of educators leaving secondary teaching rising in the space of a year.

Victorian high schools are facing teacher shortages as the number of secondary educators leaving their jobs increases.

Victorian high schools are struggling to retain teachers, with the number of educators leaving secondary teaching at government schools climbing between 2022 and 2023.

Demand for teachers is expected to outpace supply every year from now until 2029, when a shortage of 3600 high school educators is forecasted.

The state suffered a shortfall of 3706 educators last year, the Victorian Teacher Workforce Snapshot 2023 – formerly known as the Teacher Supply and Demand report – which was released on Sunday, revealed.

The state is also expected to encounter a shortfall of 2347 high school teachers in 2024, with the report attributing the increase in demand for teachers to recruitment challenges at secondary schools becoming more widespread.

It comes as more than 780 teaching, learning specialist and school leadership positions were advertised on the Department of Education’s job portal as of midday Sunday, with 261 job advertisements posted in the last seven days.

The state is also expected to encounter a shortfall of 2347 high school teachers in 2024.

While the overall number of teacher shortages anticipated in last year’s report has decreased from 5036 in 2028, to 1320 in 2029 – the number of teachers quitting their jobs has grown.

The attrition rate – which quantifies the rate at which teachers are leaving their jobs – increased from 5.2 per cent to 5.6 per cent in government primary schools between 2022 and 2023, with 1783 primary staff leaving their job.

It also increased from 6.9 per cent to 8 per cent at state high schools, with 1945 secondary staff exiting their role in 2023.

Meanwhile, Catholic sector primary attrition decreased to 8.7 per cent while the number of teachers leaving their roles at Catholic high schools increased to 9.1 per cent in the same period.

Attrition rates at state schools are at their highest in regional areas including Wimmera South West (7.2 per cent) and Goulburn (8.4 per cent) for primary teachers, and Ovens Murray (10 per cent) and Outer Gippsland (11.1) per cent for secondary educators.

Closer to the city, attrition rates were quite high compared to other regions in Western Melbourne for primary teachers (6.9 per cent) and Inner Eastern Melbourne for secondary teachers (9.3 per cent) at government schools.

But despite teachers quitting their jobs, the number of educators registering as teachers under the Victorian Institute of Teaching has increased – suggesting teachers are leaving their jobs but are not abandoning the profession.

As for early childhood teachers, supply is expected to slightly outpace demand by 520 staff in 2029 despite demand for free-kinder increasing.

The attrition rate increased from 6.9 per cent to 8 per cent at state high schools between 2022 and 2023.

Australian Education Union Victorian Branch deputy president Justin Mullaly said the latest report should “ring alarm bells” for Education Minister Ben Carroll.

“At the beginning of the 2025 school year the shortage of teachers means that too many Victorian classrooms will not have a fully qualified permanent teacher, with the Minister taking no real action to fix the problem and retain teachers,” he said.

“He must focus on the real issues facing public school communities and actually fix the chronic shortage of teachers – that’s his job.

“Without significant and urgent action to attract and retain current staff, the teacher workforce shortage crisis impacting Victorian public schools will get worse.”

Opposition spokeswoman for education Jess Wilson said the report “confirms there is no end in sight to Labor’s teacher shortages”.

“Labor’s mismanagement of our teaching workforce means students will continue to sit in doubled-up classrooms, face being sent home at lunchtime and have their educational outcomes jeopardised for the remainder of the decade,” she said.

“With more than one-in-four graduates not pursuing a career in teaching and attrition rates growing year-on-year, serious questions must be asked about value for the taxpayer, and students, for Labor’s so-called teacher workforce initiatives.”

Mr Carroll called for more Victorians to pursue a career in education, adding they will be supported with “the resources they need to do an excellent job”.

“Teachers are the bedrock of our education system. This report provides a detailed look at our workforce, allowing us to continue to drive the growth of our top-class teaching workforce,” he said.

Children’s Minister Lizzie Blandthorn added the government has made “significant investments in initiatives to grow and support the kindergarten workforce”.

“The growth we’re seeing in early childhood teachers demonstrates the success of this investment, with a 10.2 per cent increase in registered early childhood teachers from 2023 to 2024,” she said.