Today on the show, Baini was joined by the Australian Education Union NT (AEUNT) President Brian Gray. Mr Gray spoke about the potential risks regarding the NT Government’s proposed legislation to merge the Teachers Registration Board (TRB) with the Board of Studies.

Usually in the NT, teachers must be registered with the TRB in order to take up a teaching role. Minister for Education, Jo Hersey, says that the proposed bill won’t change the registration requirements for teachers, but will instead streamline the process for registration. “In our year of growth, certainty and security, the CLP Government is delivering for Territory teachers and educators to reduce red tape and strengthen accountability,” 

Mr Gray says these changes could permit more people to be able to teach without completing the four years of study usually required, risking the potential for teaching standards to lower. “It’s not a sustainable system and my worry is that with no independent oversight of teacher registration, the standards are just going to be lowered and that population [of teachers without full degrees] is just going to grow and grow.”

Mr Gray asked for members of the public to speak to their representatives to convince the Legislative Assembly that this bill is “rushed and badly thought through” so that the legislation can have proper scrutiny before it is discussed on October 13th.