10 February 2108
Today’s announcement by Education Minister Simon Birmingham to undermine teacher registration and encourage people from other professions to move into a teaching role, is yet another move to by the Federal Government which implemented will have broad ramifications for teaching and education in our schools.
“This is simply another example of Minister Birmingham disrespecting the teaching profession and attempting to lower teaching standards. This thought bubble shows how little regard he has for our education system,” said Correna Haythorpe, Federal President of the Australian Education Union.
“It is important to attract people with different skills and life experience into the teaching profession, there should be no fast track to becoming a teacher. Teaching is a complex and demanding role, and all teachers should be fully trained and qualified. Therefore if you want to be a teacher, then you need to do the training,
“Maintaining and raising teaching standards requires a rigorous training and registration process. Any discussions regarding teacher registration should be to enhance teaching and learning outcomes in our classrooms, not to diminish them, “The Australian Education Union advocated for improved workforce supply and demand, however this has been ignored by the Federal Government.
“We do not support any moves to reduce the quality of teaching in our schools and classrooms. We need fully trained, fully qualified teachers to deliver a high quality education. This is simply another bad idea from Minister Birmingham,” said Ms Haythorpe.
Media Contact: Rosina Rayns 0401 991 792
