10,000 signatures reached
To: Education Minister Ben Carroll
Paid placements for all pre-service teachers
UPDATE: The Federal Government has just released the ‘Australian Universities Accord – Final Report’ which calls for the introduction of paid placements for Pre-Service Teachers!
The Accord contains the recommendation that mandatory placements for courses such as teaching, need to be paid.
Without everyone who has signed so far, we would not have achieved this significant win.
But we need to ensure that paid placements are delivered without delay. Minister Caroll, Pre-service teachers have waited long enough!
What we need now is action. Sign the petition and join the effort to make paid placements a reality.
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Pre-service teachers in Victoria are required to complete up to 80 days of unpaid professional placement. This makes it really difficult to balance their unpaid placement with their regular paid job and cover rent, food, transport, and other living expenses.
Many are forced to defer their studies to save up money, extend their course completion time, or drop out of their studies because of the financial burden. This ultimately reduces the number of new teachers entering the workforce.
We call on the Education Minister Ben Carroll to ensure the recommendation for paid placements for all pre-service teachers is implemented without delay.
Why is this important?
Financial stress means many aspiring teachers struggle to manage their living expenses while undertaking unpaid teaching placements. Some ask family and friends for financial assistance, and others take on personal loans. The impact of unpaid placements is particularly severe for those with families or caring responsibilities, regional and rural students, and students from marginalised communities.
Too many pre-service teachers are unable to complete their studies, making Victoria's teacher shortage even worse. Without enough teachers in our schools and kindergartens, students are denied access to the full range of learning and support programs they need.
How it will be delivered
Once we reach 15,000 signatures, we will be teaming up with pre-service teachers to deliver the petition, in person, to Education Minister Ben Carroll.