A survey has found only 3 per cent of Hunter teachers believe their school is well resourced as union leaders demand more state and federal funding for public education.
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The NSW Teachers Federation survey of 664 Hunter teachers and principals showed educators were dissatisfied with how their public schools were resourced, leading to poorer outcomes for students and unsustainable work loads.
Among the other findings were:
- 46 per cent taught merged or split classes regularly or always;
- 91 per cent agreed "schools as a whole currently have difficulty in retaining teachers in the profession";
- 14 per cent were committed to staying in the profession until retirement;
- 72 per cent reported a decline or significant decline in student wellbeing and engagement in the past 18 months;
- 91 per cent reported a decline or significant decline in teacher wellbeing and morale;
- 11 per cent said counsellor support was adequate.
The union said the survey results showed the impacts of a funding shortfall and teacher shortages in NSW public schools.
Federation president Henry Rajendra will be in Newcastle on Wednesday to continue the union's campaign to have public schools fully funded under the schooling resource standard recommended by the Gonski review in 2011.
Five state education ministers have called on the Commonwealth to increase its share of public school funding from 20 to 25 per cent to ensure schools are fully funded.
The teachers union says the gap between existing funding and the Gonski standard is $1.9 billion this year in NSW.
The NSW government awarded teachers a hefty pay rise last year, increasing starting salaries from $75,791 to $85,000 and hiking the top of the pay scale from $113,042 to $122,100.
But Mr Rajendra said the federal government must increase its schools funding share to 25 per cent by 2028, while the NSW government must ensure public schools were "genuinely funded" at the Gonski level.
The union says the federal government must close a loophole which allowed NSW to divert $640 million away from student learning last year by including capital depreciation and regulatory costs in the state's share of Gonski funding.
"Amazing things happen in our public schools every day, but the government is exploiting the goodwill of teachers to maintain standards," Mr Rajendra said.
"This is not sustainable.
"The challenges facing our schools are too great and the cost of inaction too high.
"We need the state and federal governments to step up and deliver the funding our schools so urgently need."
The NSW government announced in last week's budget that it would increase its Gonski resource standard commitment from 72 to 75 per cent in 2025.
It also announced more funding for school building and maintenance, expanded support to 110 schools struggling to recruit enough teachers and committed to establishing 100 new preschools by 2027, including 14 in the Hunter.
Sixty-nine per cent of the Hunter's 70,185 primary and secondary students attend public schools.
Mr Rajendra said today's students were tomorrow's workforce, and shortchanging their education would have "consequences for decades to come".
"Our schools and our students need champions in Parliament who will stand up and demand fair funding," he said.
"It's time to stop the excuses and start investing in our children's future."
Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
