New government figures released to Parliament show there were 153 vacant permanent teaching positions on the Mid North Coast in October 2021.

NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos, who will attend the rally, warned that without action the shortages of fulltime and casual teachers will grow due to rising enrolments, a rapidly ageing workforce, unsustainable workloads, and a 30 per cent decline in people studying teaching.

Mr Gavrielatos said four months ago, Education Minister Sarah Mitchell was warned that NSW is facing a large and growing shortage of teachers - such as STEM, inclusive education, in rural and regional areas, secondary and where there has been significant population growth.

"A higher proportion of vacant positions are in country areas, that teachers in country areas are far more likely to be teaching outside their subject area of expertise and vacant positions were taking, on average, up to four months to fill," Mr Gavrielatos said.

Mr Gavrielatos said country children were bearing the brunt of the shortages and that the supply strategy the government was relying on was just a brochure with initiatives that had either failed before or were not supported by evidence they would succeed.

"Every parent in country NSW wants to be reassured that in every classroom there will be a teacher with the time and resources to meet their child's needs.

"Yet the government's inaction has seen the shortages grow and it is only going to get worse without real action," Mr Gravrielatos said.

"If the NSW Government doesn't act now, the teacher shortages will only get worse and it's country kids who will pay the price," Mr Gavrielatos said.

"Nationals MP Stephen Bromhead needs to make clear whether he supports the government's one-size fits all salary cap which is contributing to shortages, or whether he supports a greater investment in country teachers.

"Every year teachers have been asked to do more but every year their pay has fallen in comparison to other professions. The shortages are proof that if we don't pay teachers what they are worth, we don't get the teachers we need.

"A confidential Department of Education briefing says: 'The demands and expectations on teachers are increasing while the current rewards, pathways and learning opportunities are not providing enough incentive. On average teacher pay has been falling relative to pay in other professions since the late 1980s and this makes it a less attractive profession for high achieving students.'

The Department of Education documents warn the shortages are so bad NSW could run out of teachers within five years, Mr Gavrielatos said.

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