The Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, has called on the state government to prioritise improvements for local schools in 2025 after a year that was riddled with broken promises and disappointing outcomes.
Ms Cleeland said that local schools in several towns were crying out for upgrades, while other towns were still left without a secondary school despite significant demand.
“Improving the facilities at our regional schools was a high priority for many of our local families, students, teachers, and education staff members during the past year,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Sadly, in 2024 we saw more disappointment, with broken promises about improving schools in Broadford, whereas towns like Kilmore and Heathcote remain without a public secondary school.
“We are hoping to see this government take regional education more seriously in 2025, with improvements to our local schools prioritised for the benefit of our entire region.”
Ms Cleeland said that regional Victoria is also in the midst of a teacher shortage, with hundreds of vacant teaching jobs listed in country towns across the state.
Teacher vacancies have almost quadrupled since the beginning of the school year, with regional areas representing 30 per cent of the vacancies despite the area accounting for just 20 per cent of the population.
According to a Victorian Department of Education Supply and Demand report, the demand for teachers in Victoria is expected to reach a shortfall of about 5,000 teachers by 2028, mostly driven by a drop in supply in the secondary education sector.
Ms Cleeland also recognised failings from the state government to address shortages when it came to staffing regional schools.
“This Labor Government must address the declining teaching workforce in our regional communities,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Students in regional areas deserve to have access to a good education, and this is not possible without enough teachers.
“No student can achieve their best learning in over-crowded classrooms or by closing down schools.
“Despite claiming to have spent more than $1.6 billion since 2019 on workforce initiatives – the situation is getting worse and educational outcomes continue to fall for regional schools.
“Labor cannot manage money, cannot manage our education system and Victorian students are paying the price.”
