Teachers in the ACT will be eligible for a scholarship to complete a Master of Teacher Librarianship, with the ACT Government offering 10 places a year for the next four years.
The $880,000 initiative in next week’s ACT Budget will help teachers become teacher librarians and better support students, Education Minister Yvette Berry said.
“Teachers are the single most important factor to secure good educational outcomes for students,” she said.
“A qualified teacher librarian supports students, classrooms and whole-schools by enhancing digital and information literacy, resourcing the curriculum, and helping students become critical, creative and collaborative thinkers.”
The scholarships are also targeting the shortfall of qualified teacher librarians in the ACT.
“Right now, there are not enough qualified teacher librarians available, and this commitment will support teachers to undergo further studies to increase the number of qualified teacher librarians,” Ms Berry said.
The funding builds on Labor’s election commitment to increase the number of teacher librarians by 25 before the end of this term of Government.
It also pledged to hire an extra 400 teaches and support staff for ACT public schools.
The ACT Budget will be handed down on 9 February after being delayed last year due to COVID-19.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the budget would focus on Canberra’s pandemic recovery.