Class sizes will rise, education union predicts
STUDENT learning is threatened by the state government's budget cuts, according to the education union, which predicts the sacking of 200 teachers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Australian Education Union president Terry Polglase said up to 200 teachers and a further 100 education workers could go as a result of the budget and public sector job cuts.
Mr Polglase said class sizes would rise by at least three students because of the cuts, and remaining teachers would have less time to give to the larger number of students.
"It will put student learning at risk," Mr Polglase said.
"The government will not see student results lift or retention improved unless it urgently changes course and stops cutting the resources so desperately needed by teachers and students."
In budget estimates this year, Independent MLC Adriana Taylor raised the example of a high school that lost a year 7 teacher, which resulted in increased class sizes of up to 35 students in year 8.
She said the school chose to take a teacher away from its year 8 classes to keep year 7 classes at a minimum because it believed year 7s should get a good grounding in their first year of high school.
Rokeby Primary School teacher Adam Clifford, who is a union member, said an additional three students would make it difficult to address individual children's needs.
"If you have extra kids, your ability to sit down with all children is minimised," he said.
"You have less time to listen to them read, and if you are at a low socio-economic school where behaviour management is big, there are an extra three kids you have to keep an eye on, keep safe and keep to task."
A government spokesman said the Education Department was working out how to make its $21.6million budget savings.