NSW Teachers Federation lines up with government

Collaboration between the NSW Education Department, the state Liberal government and the NSW Teachers Federation has produced new professional development requirements for public school teachers. The performance and development framework, released publicly on 7 November, will mean more work for teachers.

Permanent, temporary and casual teachers will be expected to complete 100 hours of “professional learning” activities in the next five years. All “professional learning” will be supervised and reviewed. If teachers fail to complete the requisite hours, or their performance is judged unsatisfactory, they will lose their jobs and accreditation.

A year ago, the deputy president of the union, Gary Zadkovich, told teachers: “It is crucial that we reassert our commitment to the highest standard of professional practice.” Now, with the framework – including new teacher “efficiency” principles – on the table, it’s clear what that means: working harder, for longer.

“It’s outrageous”, said a union delegate at a school in Sydney’s southern suburbs, speaking to Red Flag. “I have been teaching for over 25 years now. Why should I be expected to fulfil this so-called professional development, or anyone else for that matter?”

“Up and coming teachers have gone to university for between four and six years”, he said. “Why can’t they sit down and talk about what they think they are doing right and what they need to improve on with another teacher who has been around for longer? That would make far more sense.

“They [NSWTF] should be doing something about the lack of resources in schools, the amount of overtime teachers do, not trying to kick us in the teeth and then telling us it’s for our own good.”

More than three-quarters of public school teachers in the state are members of the NSWTF. The union should be fighting these attacks, not helping to implement them.