News

ACU welcomes funding for future Victorian teaching students

An announcement by the Victorian Government to cover the costs of secondary teaching degrees for future teaching students has been welcomed by Australian Catholic University.

ACU Executive Dean of Education and Arts Professor Mary Ryan said as Australia’s largest provider of graduate teachers, all efforts to attract and support preservice teachers were a step in the right direction.

“We welcome the move to provide financial support for teaching students at a time when cost of living pressures could be the difference between someone being able to study at university or not,” she said.

“However, we know financial incentives are not enough on their own to counter the teacher shortage. We need to continue to reduce workloads and administrative burdens for teachers as well as ensure graduate teachers have the mentorship they need to thrive in the profession.”

Professor Ryan said while the announcement was aimed at attracting preservice teachers to Government secondary schools, primary schools and all school sectors were feeling the brunt of the national teacher shortage and would benefit from such support.

“We know the teacher shortage is not isolated to one part of the country or one sector. It would be ideal to have measures like this one announced by the Victorian Government implemented across all jurisdictions to help boost the pipeline of teachers into our schools,” she said.