As principals struggle to fill essential vacancies, teachers from Melbourne are being offered $700 per day to work in regional schools.
Increasing Covid and Influenza cases have resulted in serious staff shortages across Victoria, with one principal claiming it is the worst he has ever seen.
Aside from the extraordinary sick leave, several schools are also dealing with structural challenges that have prevented them from hiring enough teachers.
Casual relief teachers are now being paid roughly $300 more per day to work in government schools in rural Victoria.
Ank, a recruitment agency, began advertising casual teaching positions at $700 per day earlier this month, and it will likely continue into term three.
The Victorian government will subsidize the financial incentive, which is nearly double the regular rate of $400.
‘The impacts of the pandemic have had a profound influence on education,’ wrote Tenielle Henderson of the anzuk recruitment team.
‘While schools around the state have been impacted, regional Victoria has been hit the worst.’
To encourage teachers from metro Melbourne support schools in remote Victoria, the Department of Education has introduced a new financial incentive. The financial incentive will cover travel expenses as well as some additional spending money.’
As a result of sickness and absenteeism, there are currently personnel shortages in regional Victoria as well as Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs.
The crisis is also hurting Catholic schools in rural areas, with some principals warning that if the situation worsens, courses may have to be merged or pupils may be required to learn from home.
Principals report that the teaching workforce looks to be shrinking, with job applications down dramatically this year.
As a result, employees working in the industry have had to take on extra work to fill open positions, leading to burnout.
‘We haven’t received any applications for the positions we’ve advertised.’ ‘We generally receive a lot of candidates in English and humanities, but we haven’t gotten any,’ Anthony Rodaughan, head of Kurnai College in Morwell, told The Age.
‘The teachers who aren’t sick are teaching extra classes, which saps their energy.
‘The whole area thins out, so some people need a mental health day, they simply need to get out, and that creates a hole that someone else has to fill, so it can spiral.’
Andrew Dalgleish, chief executive of the Victorian Principals Association, believes that more has to be done to encourage students to pursue a career in teaching.
He claims that those in the field are always discussing how to make the job more appealing, but that it does not appear to be occurring as rapidly as they would like.
Teachers in Melbourne are already eligible for up to $50,000 in initial payments if they take a long-term career in a regional government school.
Anthony Albanese proposed a $150 million plan to recruit more high achievers into teaching and increase the number of science and maths instructors as part of his pre-election promise.
5,000 students with an ATAR of 80 or better will be eligible for $10,000 each year to study teaching, plus an additional $2000 if they go to the bush, under the scheme.
The initiative would also fund 1500 more placements to retrain mathematicians and scientists and support them while they pursue their master’s degree in education while working part-time as teachers.
If the idea is approved, students can earn up to $40,000 for studying teaching and up to $48,000 if they are willing to work in a regional location.