The shock of a professional subject in NSW schools

Students in New Wales will soon be allowed to study as many vocational subjects as they want, and they will continue to receive higher scores as teachers prepare for a nationwide strike over pay.

As part of the overhaul of the military-industrial complex, the system of categories A and B in vocational education and training is abolished.

Currently, students wishing to obtain an ATAR can only study one category B course – such as business services, construction or hospitality – that is conducive to obtaining them.

But the abolition of the categories will mean that they can practice as much as they want and still get ATAR while they study English as a compulsory subject.

Other reforms include conducting more HSC exams online from 2025, introducing student profiles to demonstrate extracurricular student achievement, and more accurate course reviews for 10-year students who choose HSC subjects.

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell says the HSC has not conducted a serious review in 25 years, and reforms will carry it into the 21st century.

“In today’s economy, we all need analytical, communication and collaboration skills to succeed, whether we work as a retail manager, a plumber, a researcher or a politician,” she said on Sunday.

“We need to start valuing the professional and academic professions equally and recognizing that all students need the skills to develop in today’s workplace.”

The change comes when teachers and principals report massive learning disruptions in public schools in New South Wales due to a worsening shortage of teachers, according to data provided by the state teachers ’union.

Documents from the Department of Education show that there were 1,906 vacancies for full-time teaching positions last month, up 67 percent from the same period last year, says NSW Teachers Federation President Angela Gavrielatas.

“We have children at NSW miss every day because of a shortage of teachers, including in the 12th year, which is the most important year of their schooling,” he said.

Teachers at NSW’s public and Catholic schools plan to go on strike across the state on Thursday to improve wages amid rising inflation.