Declining numbers of graduate teachers, growing student enrolments and an ageing workforce are contributing to the severe teacher shortage confronting Australian schools.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The nation's high schools are facing a shortfall of about 4100 teachers over the four years to 2025, according to figures included in a new discussion paper.
Education Minister Jason Clare has released the paper as he prepares to meet with his state and territory counterparts to discuss solutions to the pressing nationwide problem.
Principals, teachers and other education experts are also set to attend Friday's roundtable.
"There aren't many jobs more important than being a teacher. And we don't have enough of them," Mr Clare said.
"We have a teacher shortage right across the country. Fewer young people are enrolling to become teachers and more and more teachers are thinking of leaving.
"We need to fix this."
The 14-page discussion paper details the broad range of factors contributing to the "unprecedented teacher supply and retention challenges" facing schools across the country.
The paper warns that disruptions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic are just one part of a broader and systemic problem.
It singled out three main factors fuelling the teacher shortages: major growth in student enrolments, a decline in graduate teachers and an ageing workforce in schools.
READ MORE
The perception among school leavers that teachers were poorly paid and overworked was identified as among the major barriers to them pursuing a career in the profession.
Teachers themselves also felt undervalued, the paper said, referencing a 2019 study which found 71 per cent of educators did not think the public appreciated their profession.
The discussion paper follows a major review commissioned by the Morrison government into the "initial teacher education" system, which prepares graduate teachers for the classroom.
Among the recommendations from the report, which was released in February, was to launch a national teacher recruitment campaign which would "debunk myths" and promote positive aspects of the profession.
The new discussion paper poses the question of what else could be done to raise the status of teaching.
Labor went to the election with a package of measures to address teacher shortages and raise standards in the classroom, including an offer to pay high school students who obtained an ATAR of 80 or above a sum of $10,000 a year to study a teaching degree.
