Education Review Issue 7 October-November 2021 | Page 5

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Australian Primary Principals Association president Malcolm Elliott . Photo : Rohan Thompson
How will the system cope with the need to replace people if that ’ s what happens ?

Deadline dilemma

Could mandatory COVID vaccinations lead to a teacher shortage ?
By Conor Burke

The deadline for teachers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in NSW is fast approaching and with no consistent national policy , questions remain for schools and principals as to what will happen once the deadline is reached .

As it stands only NSW and Victoria , both in the grips of devastating COVID outbreaks , have made concrete decisions on mandatory vaccinations for teachers .
In Victoria , all school and early childhood staff need to be first-dose vaccinated by October 18 and double-vaccinated by November 29 .
In NSW , all school and preschool staff will be required to have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by November 8 . Politicians and policy makers in all other states and territories are said to be considering bringing in similar mandatory vaccination rules in their jurisdictions .
In the lead-up to the NSW cut-off , schools and principals are still largely in the dark about what happens if , and when , some staff are not vaccinated .
Malcolm Elliott , the president of the Australian Primary Principals Association , says that vaccination is the best way to keep teachers and students safe , but he worries what might happen to the schools that can ’ t afford to lose any teachers who may fall foul of vaccine rules .
“ The simple sentence is you can ’ t afford to lose [ any ] teachers ,” he said .
“ Because replacing them , even if they ’ re to be replaced for one day , would be very difficult – let alone a week , two weeks , a month or anything extended like that .” He says that uncertainty around vaccination status come November 8 will make planning difficult for principals , and more direction from the education department is needed .
“ If you ’ re a principal in a school right now , and you think you might be without one , two , or three teachers , well what ’ s the plan ?
“ What will happen ? How will the system cope with the need to replace people if that ’ s what happens . So clarity is critical ,” he says .
“ Because not only is there the question of trying to find someone to take up a position in a school in inner north-east Sydney , say , there ’ s also the question of who ’ s going to be working in the schools in western New South Wales ? What if we need replacements there ? What if we can ’ t get anyone ?”
He also says that any suggestions that teachers who are not vaccinated could be moved to other duties in their school are simply not feasible .
Ultimately , a consistent message from the federal and state governments would help the sector .
“ If the national cabinet was to come up with guidance with that position , that would provide the clarity that everyone is looking for . That it ’ s going to be mandatory ,” says Elliott .
In early October NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the state ’ s vaccination rate among teachers was similar to that of the wider community , meaning around ( at that time ) four in five teachers would be eligible to go back to class .
Australian Secondary Principals ’ Association president Andrew Pierpoint says that while firm figures on the number of vaccinated teachers are hard to come by , principals will not be caught by surprise .
“ It ’ s not going to be a decision on Friday morning [ before the cut-off ] about , ‘ oh we haven ’ t got enough teachers ’,” he says .
“ In the lead-up there ’ ll be a lot of surveys done . There ’ ll be a lot of conversations by principles with staff about how many people he or she will have on the day that the mandatory vaccination comes in .
“ Principles will be well-planned and well prepared for that . There will be challenges ; I ’ m not trying to dodge that .”
Some schools may have to employ some workarounds due to teacher absences , such as combining classes Pierpoint says , but for NSW Teachers Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos , things might be different if teachers were prioritised in the rollout .
“ From the outset of this second wave in New South Wales on the 14th of June , there wasn ’ t a day go by where we didn ’ t repeat the call to prioritise teachers for the vaccination rollout ,” he said .
“ And our members were very angry that they weren ’ t being prioritised . Our advice to teachers and the teaching service at large is simple . Get vaccinated .
“ Where you can ’ t for medical reasons and there ’ s medical contraindication , we will make sure through appropriate negotiation for the government that we have measures in place to ensure your ongoing employment in a safe environment as is required .” ■
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