Teacher training review an exercise in blame shifting, says AEU

<p>The review into teacher training&comma; announced this month by Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge&comma; simply demonstrates the continued failure of the Coalition Government to deliver the funding and resources we know will lift student performance&comma; Australian Education Union Federal President Correna Haythorpe has said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote>&NewLine;<p>The Federal Government is trying to shift the blame for their failures to teachers and principals&period; It is deeply disturbing&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We already know what needs to be done to help our students achieve&period; There has been review after review conducted since 2013&period; It is blatantly obvious what needs to be done and yet the Federal Government refuses to get on with it&comma;” Ms Haythorpe said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote>&NewLine;<p>Teachers need better pay and career prospects&comma; better induction and mentoring&comma; ongoing professional support and protection from ever-increasing administration&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We need the best and the brightest to join the profession&period; Minimum entry requirements to recruit the top 30 per cent of students into initial teacher education should be adopted&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;If this government was serious about addressing student performance&comma; they would address their underfunding of public schools and ensure every school and every child had access to the resources they need to thrive&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;This review must not be used to erode the professionalism and standards for teachers&period; It can not be a stalking horse to lower standards and open the door to organisations who might seek to put unqualified people in classrooms&comma;” Ms Haythorpe said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;