- Minister for Education
Victoria's best and brightest teachers will be offered incentives of up to $50,000 each to relocate to rural and regional schools, as part of $45.2 million investment by the Andrews Labor Government to bridge the divide between student results in the regions and the city.
The funding is part of a wider initial package to support recommendations from the Expert Advisory Panel for Rural and Regional Students set to be announced today by Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Education James Merlino.
The incentives aim to increase the attractiveness of teaching positions in rural and regional schools and include:
- $12.5 million that will go towards offering the best teachers up to $50,000 to relocate to country areas to fill hard-to-staff positions, as well as a range of non-financial support to assist with relocation, such as help with finding housing. Teachers will also be eligible for retention payments of up to $9,000 per year in their first three years if they remain in these roles
- $12.9 million to support school leaders with additional expert Turnaround Teams to work with individual schools facing the greatest barriers to addressing underperformance
- $7 million to fund additional Executive Class Principals to take on the most challenging, complex and specialised school leadership roles
- $12.8 million to increase the number of high-quality teachers specialising in VET and VCAL so that more students from country areas can access and complete apprenticeships, traineeships and further education.
Professionals from a range of industries will be also be retrained as VET qualified teachers. Grants will be available to schools to share VET trainers between schools and TAFEs, and VET and VCAL teachers will have access to professional learning programs and scholarships.
The Labor Government is getting on with building the Education State so that every student can access a great local school and a quality education, no matter where they live.
As noted by Minister for Education James Merlino
"Our priority is making sure all students - no matter where they live - have the best possible start in life and are able to attend a great local school and get a great education."
"We know that the quality of teaching is one of the greatest influences on student performance, which is why we're making record investments to attract high quality teachers and principals to our country schools."
"We have heard first hand that the divide between schools in the regions and the city is one of the biggest issues facing our schools and that is why we are getting on with the job of fixing it."
