Teacher recruitment program to create 2,600 jobs

Up to 2,600 teaching jobs will be available in government primary and secondary schools next year.

Around 1,000 of the new jobs will be created as part of the Victorian government's $102 million a year Early Literacy Initiative, and will include almost 500 new graduates.

The initiative is part of the government's drive to improve the literacy standards of young students. Primary schools will be able to appoint experienced teachers to the role of literacy coordinators, freeing up teaching positions for young graduates.

In a move to attract the brightest and best to teaching, graduate starting salaries will reach $35,665 by October next year.  Salary packaging will also be available to teachers for the first time ever.

"Opportunities for new teachers have never been better with multi-million dollar initiatives in the areas of literacy, numeracy, science, Languages Other Than English (LOTE), and Vocational Education and Training," the Education Minister, Mr. Gude said.

The state's government teachers were recently granted an eight per cent pay offer resulting in an increase in salaries since 1992 of 25.4 per cent.  The top salary for a principal will be $97,120 and for teachers $56,965.

Mr Gude said that the present Government had turned around the effective freezing out of young graduates under the previous Government, and since 1992 had appointed over 4,000 young teachers.

(News Release, Minister for Education, October 23, 1998)