Dr LIM - 1999-10-13
This week, Territory students return to school for the start of term 4. In fact, many Year 12 students will be preparing for their final exams, coming soon. During the year, the opposition and the teachers’ union have been quite vocal about the shortage of teachers. Can the minister inform the House of how many teaching vacancies currently exist in our schools?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I take the opportunity to wish all students who are about to undergo examinations, in some cases their final series of examinations, all the very best.
It is timely, as we have started the final term of the school year, to have a look at where we are in terms of teacher supply and demand. There has been much said in the media and publicly about the need for teachers. I have said from time to time that in some areas, particularly when we are talking about specialised areas such as high school maths and sciences, and in some of the remote parts of the Northern Territory we do at times experience difficulty in recruiting teachers. That’s not unique to the Territory.
I can inform the House that, at the start of this final school term, for 2000 teaching positions throughout the Northern Territory we currently have 6 vacancies. And we have 6 people identified to fill those vacancies. From checking I’ve done around the country, we are the best-placed jurisdiction in terms of per capita vacancies at the moment. That’s a credit to the work done by this government and the department, and it’s also a credit to the dedication of the teachers within our system.
Of the 6 positions to be filled, one is still occupied. So you could argue that there are only 5 vacancies. And in each and every case, people have been identified to fill those positions.
We’ve had a figure of 400 resignations thrown about in this Chamber throughout the year. I can inform honourable members that the turnover of teachers in the Northern Territory continues to trend down, to the extent now that the figures indicate that we have in the teaching profession the most stable workforce in the Northern Territory. Members opposite can push out all sorts of misinformation, but the fact of the matter is that from February to September of this year we had 112 resignations. Most of the claimed 400 resignations have been separations, with contracts coming to an end and being renewed. Many resignations also occurred over school holidays.
We are trending down in teacher turnover. Teacher vacancies have dropped dramatically to the extent that we have effectively filled almost every single position, which is unheard-of in the rest of the country at the moment.
In placing teachers for next year, we have already begun discussions with students at Northern Territory University who are in their final months of studies. We spoke to some of those students yesterday. There’ll be another presentation on Friday. We’re awaiting word on how many people will be available for interview from Batchelor College and interstate. We’ve spoken to 43 prospective applicants in Brisbane and 38 in Sydney. Over the next 2 weeks we expect to speak to a further 28 in Adelaide and approximately 30 in Melbourne.
But we are not complacent. I acknowledge that we need to keep working on the area of relief teachers. While there has been some easing in certain areas, it is a priority of the department and certainly a priority of mine to work on some strategies. We’ve already had some good consultation, including with the union - the union has been part of the process - on some positive strategies that we can employ to address that issue as well.
I inform honourable members and Territorians listening to this broadcast that the news is good. We are not being complacent, but vacancies are virtually non-existent. The teacher turnover rate is down dramatically. We have in our teaching cohort an incredibly stable workforce. That, as I have said, is a credit to the department and the government, and also to the dedication of the teaching profession.
It’s time to put away the misinformation. It’s time for the opposition to talk about the realities. Let’s not talk down the profession. Let’s talk about facts. And the facts speak for themselves. The trend is in the right direction. We are not complacent, but the news is good.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I take the opportunity to wish all students who are about to undergo examinations, in some cases their final series of examinations, all the very best.
It is timely, as we have started the final term of the school year, to have a look at where we are in terms of teacher supply and demand. There has been much said in the media and publicly about the need for teachers. I have said from time to time that in some areas, particularly when we are talking about specialised areas such as high school maths and sciences, and in some of the remote parts of the Northern Territory we do at times experience difficulty in recruiting teachers. That’s not unique to the Territory.
I can inform the House that, at the start of this final school term, for 2000 teaching positions throughout the Northern Territory we currently have 6 vacancies. And we have 6 people identified to fill those vacancies. From checking I’ve done around the country, we are the best-placed jurisdiction in terms of per capita vacancies at the moment. That’s a credit to the work done by this government and the department, and it’s also a credit to the dedication of the teachers within our system.
Of the 6 positions to be filled, one is still occupied. So you could argue that there are only 5 vacancies. And in each and every case, people have been identified to fill those positions.
We’ve had a figure of 400 resignations thrown about in this Chamber throughout the year. I can inform honourable members that the turnover of teachers in the Northern Territory continues to trend down, to the extent now that the figures indicate that we have in the teaching profession the most stable workforce in the Northern Territory. Members opposite can push out all sorts of misinformation, but the fact of the matter is that from February to September of this year we had 112 resignations. Most of the claimed 400 resignations have been separations, with contracts coming to an end and being renewed. Many resignations also occurred over school holidays.
We are trending down in teacher turnover. Teacher vacancies have dropped dramatically to the extent that we have effectively filled almost every single position, which is unheard-of in the rest of the country at the moment.
In placing teachers for next year, we have already begun discussions with students at Northern Territory University who are in their final months of studies. We spoke to some of those students yesterday. There’ll be another presentation on Friday. We’re awaiting word on how many people will be available for interview from Batchelor College and interstate. We’ve spoken to 43 prospective applicants in Brisbane and 38 in Sydney. Over the next 2 weeks we expect to speak to a further 28 in Adelaide and approximately 30 in Melbourne.
But we are not complacent. I acknowledge that we need to keep working on the area of relief teachers. While there has been some easing in certain areas, it is a priority of the department and certainly a priority of mine to work on some strategies. We’ve already had some good consultation, including with the union - the union has been part of the process - on some positive strategies that we can employ to address that issue as well.
I inform honourable members and Territorians listening to this broadcast that the news is good. We are not being complacent, but vacancies are virtually non-existent. The teacher turnover rate is down dramatically. We have in our teaching cohort an incredibly stable workforce. That, as I have said, is a credit to the department and the government, and also to the dedication of the teaching profession.
It’s time to put away the misinformation. It’s time for the opposition to talk about the realities. Let’s not talk down the profession. Let’s talk about facts. And the facts speak for themselves. The trend is in the right direction. We are not complacent, but the news is good.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016