The Department of Education has kicked off an initiative to boost maths teachers across regional, rural and remote NSW public schools with the launch of a pilot teacher retraining program.
Welcoming the Department’s Mathematics Teacher Retraining Program, Minister for Education and Early Learning, Sarah Mitchell said the pilot would help remove barriers stopping teachers gaining maths qualifications by covering course fees for Master, Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate courses for current NSW teachers.
“To be a maths teacher you need a major or minor in pure or applied mathematics in a bachelor/postgraduate qualification, which can be difficult to obtain while employed fulltime, making it hard for existing teachers to become qualified maths teachers,” Ms Mitchell said.
“Key to faster retraining is recognising teachers’ existing experience so they can retrain as quickly as possible,” she said.
“Initial teacher education providers would develop innovative and flexible courses specifically for the program to ensure teachers did not spend unnecessary hours retraining.”
Ms Mitchell said the pilot was expected to start early next year, with an initial cohort of approximately 40 NSW teachers.
The Minister said the Program was part of the Department’s NSW Teacher Supply Strategy 2021 – 2031, a multi-pronged response to attracting, developing and retaining teachers.
