UTS cut School of Education, affect on teacher shortage in Australia

Editorial Assistant Imogen Grebert discusses the extensive course cuts happening at UTS and how this will further debilitate Australia’s teacher shortage.

On 17 September 2025, the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), announced that it will be closing its School of Education, as well as Public Health and International Studies, as part of a cost-cutting initiative to save over $100 million. As a result, it means the loss of over 400 jobs for University lecturers, tutors and conveners, and the cutting of up to 167 courses, and about 1100 subjects. This issue emerges at a time when workforce shortages in education and public health are critical, despite growing demand for these essential services. So, how is this going to affect teachers moving forward? 

Australia has been steadily approaching a teacher shortage over the past decade, a challenge that has been further intensified and brought into focus by the aftermath of COVID-19.[1] The Australian Education Union (AEU) has noted that about 20 per cent of graduates leave the teaching profession within the first three years, according to federal government data, and many experienced teachers are leaving before retirement age. The AEU’s latest research has revealed teacher shortages at almost 83 per cent of 953 schools.[1] COVID-19 highlighted the many challenges that teachers face in their field of work, showing the cracks that have been forming for years, and just how far they reach. The teacher shortage isn’t just one specific issue, but a multitude that has never been addressed and built up over time and has finally bubbled to the surface. A lack of access to resources and support, in addition to rising mental health concerns, are just some of the reasons that teachers leave. The expectations of teachers are another point for concern as schools increase their reliance on standardised tests. Teaching has become more time-consuming and more physically and emotionally demanding, while the pay and social rewards are often perceived as unsatisfactory.[2]

Universities play a key role in not only providing new and upcoming teachers with expertise in their field, but also a strong understanding of curriculum, behaviour management skills, as well theory-based understanding of them and practical experiences. Without university degrees and Schools of Education, we run the risk of not supporting future teachers and failing to show them the importance of their role within our community. This message is further echoed by NSW Department of Education Secretary Murat Dizdar who said, "Teaching is the profession that creates every single other profession; it's so important for the state's social and economic fabric".[3] The second issue of not being able to support students who want to pursue education is the fact that, without having sufficient pathways, new teachers are entering into a system that is working against them. One of the biggest threats to our teacher shortage isn’t the fact that teachers are under-qualified, but that the system in which they work is. Even the most capable graduates cannot thrive without structural backing. Responsibility for retention doesn’t end at graduation; it requires a well-resourced and coordinated system, especially in the communities that need teachers most.[3] 

The Australian Government is trying to improve its teacher shortage by putting together the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan.[4] The plan was put in place in 2022, and one of its first goals is to implement an ongoing strategy to attract more people to the profession and retain more teachers in the workforce. One of the ways the Government is attempting to do this is by having accessible scholarships that help cover the cost of HECS debts and pay students to study education. This scholarship promotes students to pursue teaching in regional and remote areas of Australia. UTS’s decision to get rid of the School of Education then makes the funding that the government is providing, in a sense, redundant if the University decides to cut education. 

Overall, we won’t be able to fully understand the consequences of UTS’s decision to cut the School of Education, Public Health and International Studies in the short-term. But in regard to our teacher shortage in Australia there are definitely concerns. The cuts are being put in place in the form of a temporary suspension of the course that will be finalised in the coming months. Vince Caughley, from the National Tertiary Education Union, has described the proposal as "poorly managed." "At a time when health and education have never been more important, when there is a shortage of teaching and health professionals in the community, it seems curious that a public institution would make this decision and be allowed to make this decision," he said. [3] Whether these cuts will ease UTS’s financial strain or deepen Australia’s critical workforce shortages remains to be seen, but what is clear is that the stakes extend far beyond the university gates.

References

[1] Long, Christine. “AEU : Filling Critical Teacher Gaps.” Aeufederal.org.au, 2024, www.aeufederal.org.au/news-media/news/2024/filling-critical-teacher-gaps. 

[2] Longmuir, Fiona. “Australia’s Teacher Shortage Is a Generational Crisis in the Making. How Can We Turn Things Around?” ABC News, 2023, www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-30/pandemic-exposed-australia-teacher-shortage-students-schools/101886452. 

[3] Davis, Miriah, and Gavin Coote. “UTS to Axe 1,100 Subjects across Education and Public Health, Cuts 134 Full-Time Jobs.” Abc.net.au, ABC News, 17 Sept. 2025, www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-17/uts-cuts-subjects-job-cuts-restructure/105783978. 

[4] Department of Education. “National Teacher Workforce Action Plan - Department of Education, Australian Government.” Department of Education, 2023, www.education.gov.au/national-teacher-workforce-action-plan. 

[5] Matters, EduResearch. “Think Teacher Education Is to Blame for Shortages?” EduResearch Matters, 30 July 2025, blog.aare.edu.au/think-teacher-education-is-to-blame-for-shortages/.