Education Department annual report: Number of public school teachers quitting doubles in five years

Teachers continue to exit WA public schools in droves, with the number quitting their jobs more than doubled in the past five years. Figures in the Department of Education’s annual report — tabled in Parliament this week — show that 1263 teachers resigned from public schools last year, compared with 604 in 2019. While the number of resignations fell slightly from a peak of 1275 in 2022, the report noted they “remained high”. “Strong labour market growth and labour shortages continued to provide alternative employment opportunities,” it said. Highlighting the ongoing staffing crisis in schools, the number of people granted limited registration to teach because they were not fully qualified has also doubled in five years — soaring from 701 in mid-2020 to 1722 by June this year. The report said the increase in the number of individuals with limited registration was largely due to “workforce supply issues”. Shadow Education Minister Peter Rundle said the long-term increase in resignation numbers and limited registrations was “very concerning” at a time when many schools — especially those in regional areas — were struggling to get and keep enough teachers. He said it appeared that pre-service teachers in the final year of their degree who obtained limited registration were being increasingly used as a solution to the teacher shortage. “Support of our teachers is absolutely critical,” he said. “We don’t want them burning out before they’ve even finished their qualification.” State School Teachers Union president Matt Jarman said workload, abuse and physical safety were the main reasons teachers cited for leaving their jobs. According to a union survey, only 18 per cent of members said they expected to stay in the profession until they reached retirement age. “The SSTUWA is aware of limited registration teachers being mentored by graduate teachers simply due to the lack and loss of experienced teachers and the need for experienced teachers to wear so many hats,” Mr Jarman said. “We are in a cycle of burnout and poor retention that is costing us the future of the public school teaching profession in WA.” Education Minister Tony Buti said the Cook Government was delivering record levels of reform and investment into public education to help ensure teachers could focus wholeheartedly on their core business of teaching. “I understand many of the demands of the profession, and the feedback we are hearing from WA and other parts of the country and world is they are more complex and challenging than ever before,” he said. “We have recently reached an enterprise bargaining agreement with teachers and principals, which significantly improves pay and conditions. “We have also just signed a landmark agreement with the Federal Government to be the first State to fully fund our public schools to the Gonski standard. “This additional $1.6 billion investment will level up our support for teachers and make sure they have what they need to get on with actually teaching.”