Teachers are the backbone of society. So why do so few people apply?

It is a sad indictment of the state of Australian teaching that universities are admitting students into education degrees with extremely low ATAR rankings, while high school graduates with the best HSC marks opt for high-status careers in actuarial studies, law and engineering.

Universities Admissions Centre data for last year shows students admitted with ATARs as low as 51 at the University of Canberra, while at Charles Sturt, the University of Newcastle and Australian Catholic University, the lowest ATAR was in the 50s.

Lowering entrance standards is one consequence of government policies forcing universities to desperately chase funds, but it also speaks to the continuing decline in teaching as a profession, which may be reflected in Australia’s long-term slide in international academic league tables. Year 9 students are at least a full academic year behind equivalent Australian students in the 1990s.

Teachers held respected and pivotal places in Australian suburbs and towns before we transitioned into an urban society, but the idea of an inspirational teacher as a career model never took root in popular culture, literature and film. Other countries had Goodbye Mr Chips, To Sir, With Love, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Dead Poet’s Society as inspiration, but Australia had a teacher who lost her students in Picnic at Hanging Rock and a teacher who lost himself in Wake in Fright.

For many, the best thing going for teaching was once the long holidays and short hours. But those perks ebbed as the idea of teaching as a career fell from grace under increased classroom workloads, unruly students, dissatisfied vocal parents, red tape and ongoing union campaigns that highlighted the downsides of the role.

Some educators and policymakers have called for changes to revitalise the profession. Of course, public school enrolments in NSW have been dropping as Australians have grown more affluent and real cuts to government funding have eroded the public sector’s ability to match the burgeoning private school sector. Nationally, there is a pressing teacher shortage, worsened by the fact that about half of the people who enrol in teaching degrees drop out.

To stem the tide, the Minns government honoured pre-election promises and 11 months ago made NSW teachers Australia’s highest paid. Under a four-year agreement with the NSW Teachers Federation to alleviate the teacher shortage, salaries rose for both beginners with ATARs of 80 and top-of-the-scale teachers by nearly $10,000 a year, while teachers in middle salary bands received increases of between 4 and 8 per cent.

Despite the extra money and inducements, teaching is unlikely to turn into a glamour profession overnight. If it was once a calling, teaching as a career is now often an afterthought for students struggling with the HSC.

The lowering of entrance standards to education degrees is counterintuitive, a deterrent to students capable of completing courses, and erodes professional standing. We appear to have forgotten the importance of attracting the best: teachers are the backbones of a system that determines the future of every child, and which career many of us pursue.

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