WA primary schools under pressure as student-teacher ratio blows out

New Productivity Commission data has revealed the ratio of primary school students to teachers in WA’s public schools is the highest in the nation, with 15.2 students per teacher compared to the national average of 13.7.

The latest Report on Government Services also found WA’s high schools weren’t much better, with the second-worst ratio in the country of 12.8 students per teacher.

Opposition education spokesman Liam Staltari said the data confirmed what teachers, parents and principals had been saying for years, and that, after a decade in power, WA Labor could not shirk responsibility.

“WA simply does not have enough teachers, and these figures prove it,” he said.