The Labor Party is committed to readying our kids for the jobs of the future, but we need more qualified STEM teachers that only Labor will deliver.
Bill Shorten today announced Labor would provide $393m for 25,000 teaching scholarships over five years to recent graduates of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) degrees, encouraging them to continue their studies and become a STEM teacher.
Shorten’s plan is that every secondary STEM teacher in Australia will be qualified in their relevant subject by 2020.
“About 40 per cent teaching maths in years 7-10 do not have a relevant tertiary qualification.”
“This announcement is a key part of Labor’s plan to ensure every Australian student studies a STEM subject to year 12,” Shorten said.
“This will better equip Australian students with the skills they will need to get good jobs in the knowledge-based growth industries of the future.”
Up to 75 per cent of the fastest growing occupations today require skills in STEM, and employment in the sector is projected to grow at almost double the rate of other occupations.
“Labor is 100 per cent committed to investing in our students today, so that they can get good jobs tomorrow.”
Shadow education minister Kate Ellis expressed her concerns over the levels of under-qualification in teachers teaching STEM subjects.
“Currently, about 40 per cent of those teaching maths in years 7-10 do not have a relevant tertiary qualification,” Ellis said.
“Across the country, half of school principals have reported they had maths or science classes in their schools taught by teachers who weren’t STEM qualified.”
Bill Shorten has called for immediate action on these concerning trends.
“If you provide the teachers the support they require, then the sky is the limit,” Shorten said.
“Mr Turnbull simply won’t acknowledge that investing in education is an insurance policy for Australia’s economy.
“In contrast, Labor is 100 per cent committed to investing in our students today, so that they can get good jobs tomorrow.”
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