Minns Government Promises 100 New Preschools, Despite Teacher Shortage.  

By James Bale

On Tuesday, NSW deputy premier and minister for education Prue Car announced a promise worth $769 million, as they strive to open 100 new preschools by the end of 2027.

The plan will see up to 9000 children receive sufficient education in the years before school. Car said that this new project will help build a greater sense of community across the state as well as revitalize the state’s public education system.

“The Minns Government is committed to building schools and preschools for communities that need them and since being elected, we have been working to rebuild public education in NSW,” said Car.  

Pattern Book To Fastrack School Development

In light of this mass expansion, the NSW government announced the release of a ‘pattern book’, which hopes to fast-track the development process. This will mean the newly developed schools will all adopt the same, if not similar design, alongside the usage of modern methods of construction such as prefabrication and off-site manufacturing.

“With this record pipeline of tenders and projects going to market, we are getting on with the job of delivering new schools and new facilities quicker,” Car said.  “We are seeking broad industry participation to enable school projects to be delivered more quickly and affordably while minimizing the impact on school communities during construction.” 

This announcement is occurring during a period when teaching staff, especially casual teachers, are a scarce commodity. In the past year, public schools across the state have had a 42% daily dropout rate for casual teachers, alongside teachers leaving roles in public schools for positions in private schools.

Teachers Scarce

The President of the NSW Teachers Federation, Henry Rajendra said the teacher shortage is not the fault of the current government. “The teacher shortage is a direct consequence of the former Coalition state government’s relentless suppression of wages over the last decade,” Rajendra stated. “While the rebuild is underway, crushing workloads remain a huge problem in attracting and retaining the teachers our children need and deserve,” said Rajendra

Car highlighted the three-year low in teacher resignations and retirements. The NSW government believes that this new low is a result of the mass pay rise for teachers and offering permanent employment to over 16,000 teaching staff.

“These further improved figures show the steps we are taking to address the teacher shortage crisis, ignored by the former Liberal National government, are making a difference.” Car stated. “The drop in resignations and retirements shows teachers are hearing that we value their work and are supporting them to focus on delivering quality teaching and learning.” 

The tenders for 85 of the 100 new schools are set to be released by the end of the year.