PHOTO: Brewarrina Central School had a reported 54% teacher vacancy rate in 2022
Alarmingly, the Western Plains region is the home of three of the top ten understaffed school in the state, based on term four figures from last year.
The teacher shortage across NSW has become a hot election topic as all contestants grapple with ways to resolve the crisis at a time when workforce gaps are challenging virtually every industry in regional Australia.
A $14-million government programto attract teachers to work in state schools has been labelled a failure by the teachers union, with several schools still with multiple vacant positions.
The Recruitment Beyond program was announced in 2021 with a goal of recruiting more than 560 teachers from interstate and overseas by 2024…