Next week, unvaccinated teachers, school staff, and care workers will be allowed to return to the work in Victoria.
From Friday, the requirement that these employees have a triple vaccination will no longer be in effect.
Teachers’ vaccination records won’t be disclosed to parents, and they won’t be allowed to inquire about their immunization status.
The mandates will no longer be used in regular schools, although they will still be used in specialist schools.
‘Parents do not have the right to ask for this information and no one at the school should have this information,’ an information sheet for principals says.
‘Principals do not hold information about the vaccination status of staff or students.
It follows the termination of 351 teachers in April for failing to receive the vaccination, as well as the standing down of another 280 teachers for neglecting a third vaccination.
As principals struggle to fill critical jobs, teachers are being paid $700 per day to work at regional schools in Victoria, which is grappling with a teacher shortage.
As a result of sickness and absenteeism hollowing rosters, there are currently worker shortages throughout regional Victoria as well as in Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs.
According to principals, fewer people are applying for teaching jobs this year, suggesting that the teaching workforce may be shrinking.
As a result, employees working in the industry have had to take on extra work to fill open positions, which has led to their burnout.
‘We are getting no applicants for positions we are advertising. English, humanities, usually we’d get several applicants, and we have got none,’ Anthony Rodaughan, principal of Kurnai College in Morwell, told The Age.
‘The teachers that aren’t sick are taking extra classes, so their energy levels drop.
‘The whole place becomes thinner and thinner, so some people need a mental health day, they just need to get out, and that leaves a hole someone else must fill, so it can spiral.’
More needs to be done, according to Andrew Dalgleish, chief executive of the Victorian Principals Association, to encourage students to become teachers.
He claimed that although professionals in the field are constantly talking about methods to make their jobs more appealing, it does not seem to be happening as quickly as desired.
If they accept a long-term position at a rural government school, teachers in Melbourne are already qualified for initial payments of up to $50,000.
Anthony Albanese promised $150 million as part of his pre-election campaign to increase the number of science and math teachers and recruit more high achievers into the teaching profession.
According to the plan, 5,000 students with an ATAR of 80 or better will be eligible to receive $10,000 annually to study teaching, plus an additional $2000 if they choose to live in the bush.
Additionally, 1500 additional positions will be funded under the plan to retrain mathematicians and scientists and assist them as they work part-time as teachers while pursuing their master’s in education.
Students will be able to earn up to $40,000 for studying teaching, and up to $48,000 if they are willing to work in a regional area, if the proposal is approved.