On a rainy afternoon in Sydney, university students assembled outside Parliament House to protest unpaid placements.
“There have been days when I just haven’t eaten because I had to get to placement,” said Master of Education student Callum Ward, as he addressed the rally.
The crowd responded with cries of “Shame! Shame!”
Protesters were joined by officers from the IEU, who stood alongside members of Students Against Placement Poverty (SAPP), a national grassroots collective who hosted the November 28 rally.
SAPP has members in degree programs including Education, Nursing, and Social Work. The group is campaigning for university placements to be paid.
Speakers at the rally shared stories of hardship and desperation, with students struggling to complete their degrees and unpaid placements while making ends meet during a cost-of-living crisis.
Ward, 22, questioned why people accept that apprentices need to be paid for their labour but don’t take issue with student teachers, social workers and nurses working for free while on placement.
“I’m fed up with being told this is just the way it is and if I can’t handle it, I shouldn’t be a teacher,” Ward said.
The Macquarie University student said he has seen too many teaching students drop out at a time when teachers are desperately needed.
“As it stands, one in five permanent teachers in NSW quit within the first five years. That is a depressing statistic, but combine that with the fact that 50 per cent of Education students drop out before the end of their degree,” he said.
“We are losing these amazing people who would make amazing teachers before they even step into the classroom.”
Officers from the NSW/ACT branch of the IEU attended the rally to show their support for the students’ cause.
“Given the teacher shortage crisis, we should be doing all we can to make sure as many students as possible get through their teaching degrees,” IEU Deputy Secretary David Towson said.
“Having unpaid placements puts pressure on the most vulnerable people, often single mothers, who cannot afford not to earn an income and complete their teaching degree.
“We need these people to be in our schools.”