Tasmania’s school principals are working 60-hour weeks bogged down with administration tasks that could be completed by other staff, reducing their time leading education.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A report released today, commissioned by the Australian Education Union Tasmania, surveyed 3000 Education Department employees and showed only one in five Tasmanian principals believe their workload is manageable.
“A system where principals have to prioritise administration over improving the quality of teaching and learning at their school shows a system severely off kilter,” AEU Tasmania president Helen Richardson said.
“Due to chronic staff shortages, teachers and principals are required to also act as social workers, psychologists and do data entry. This should ring alarm bells for anyone concerned about quality education and our state’s future.”
More than half of principals spend most of their day dealing with internal administration tasks, with 60 per cent wanting those tasks allocated to other staff.
The report found 90 per cent of principals need more professional support staff such as school psychologists and speech therapists to support students.
Teachers are also feeling the strain, with only 48 per cent of primary and 38 per cent of secondary teachers saying they can meet their students’ individual learning needs.
“If our political leaders act decisively now on the advice of educators then we can chart a positive course for Tasmania’s future,” Ms Richardson said.
