The NSW Opposition has hit out at the Minns Labor Government’s reckless decision to add to teacher workloads while reducing critical supports, by removing assistant and deputy principals from their existing roles.
Leader of the Opposition Mark Speakman said the Minns Government is failing in its promise to deliver more teachers and is instead putting additional pressures on the current workforce which is already stretched thin.
“These roles were created to ease pressure on teachers, helping them to manage discipline in the classroom, support students with additional learning needs and to guide staff who are at the beginning of their teaching career,” Mr Speakman said.
“Instead of delivering additional teachers that the Minns Labor Government had promised, they’re just moving the numbers around, stacking more responsibilities onto classroom teachers at a time when we know that burnout is a massive issue.”
Shadow Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell also criticised the lack of action on the teacher shortage issue, with today’s announcement just a rehash of a last year’s announcement.
“Labor’s suggestion that these roles can simply be eliminated without negatively impacting teachers and students is self-evidently completely untrue, and undermines the complexity of our schools and the important roles these staff play,” Ms Mitchell said.
“The simple fact is that nothing has changed since the Labor Government’s announcement four months ago, and what’s more concerning is the Education Minister still hasn’t provided any detail on how assistant and deputy principals will be expected to split their workload between their teaching and support roles or what the impacts on schools will be.”
“The Minister needs to tell parents and school staff exactly which positions will be cut, and how this will affect students and learning outcomes.”
“The Minister today let the cat out of the bag, saying “our focus is to get costs under control” – an admission that this is really about the Minns Labor Government being unable to pay for its wages deal with the unions. Labor promised its pay deal would not cost the state anything, but now it is clear our kids will be the ones who pay the price.”
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