Students have been sent home with incomplete report cards because of the teacher shortage at Murrumbidgee Regional High School.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
One mother was horrified when her child in Year 10 came back with a PDHPE report card with the following teacher comment:
"Due to ongoing staffing issues, a comprehensive report on [student's] progress in PDHPE during Semester One is not available."
She was then graded "D", even though she didn't have a PDHPE classroom teacher for much of the semester.
This wasn't an isolated incident; many other students across the Griffith High site had received low grades with the same comment copied and pasted onto their report.
Instead they received comments from the PDHPE head teacher based on their assignments.
Following inquiries from The Area News, a NSW Department of Education spokesman said each of the affected students would be given new report cards with the comment removed.
"Murrumbidgee Regional High School Executive Principal Peter King apologises for the comment made and any confusion or misinterpretation," he said.
"This sentence will be removed from all future reports and he will re-issue all students affected with a new report with the sentence removed and just the comments made against outcomes and achievement remaining."
READ MORE
Member for Murray Helen Dalton, who was once a PE teacher herself, said she was "absolutely horrified" by the reports.
"Any well staffed, properly functioning high school should not have an issue in providing comprehensive reports on student progress," Mrs Dalton said.
"The Department of Education talk a lot about achieving outstanding student outcomes and having a strong emphasis on learning, but the reality is that you cannot have outstanding outcomes or quality learning unless you put a teacher in front of students in the classroom."
Mrs Dalton blames the teacher shortage on the lack of financial incentives for Griffith teachers.
She said she's "imploring" the Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell to make Griffith a four-point transfer area, to put it on par with the rest of the electorate.
***
While you're with us, did you know that you can now receive updates straight to your inbox every Monday at 6am from The Area News? To make sure you're up to date with all the Griffith and MIA news you can sign up here
Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
