At a country high school in Victoria's north-west, students learning Italian are taught via a computer screen by a teacher 400 kilometres away in Melbourne.
It's just one example of the unconventional arrangements regional and rural schools are adopting as they grapple with chronic teacher shortages affecting both ongoing and casual relief roles.
Figures from the education department show that throughout 2020, Victorian principals were competing to fill more than 11,400 advertised vacancies for primary and secondary teachers in government schools alone.
Since January, more than 300 final-year teaching students have been called upon to begin teaching in schools while simultaneously completing their studies, as the system deals with unprecedented disruption from surging coronavirus infections.
St Mary MacKillop College Swan Hill principal Michelle Haeusler said although the dwindling supply of teachers had become particularly acute in recent times, the problem was not new.
"COVID-19 has added an extra layer but this has been coming for a while," she said.
"We have had to employ an Italian teacher in Melbourne who teaches the classes remotely while another teacher supervises here in the classroom."
Ms Haeusler said the school had also faced great difficulty finding a new maths teacher ahead of the school term.
At that time, there were 43 vacancies advertised for government schools and 11 in the Catholic and independent sector.
"For a number of years now we have combined classes with [the local government school] Swan Hill College so the students in our town can get the teachers and subjects they want."
Social isolation, housing crisis significant barriers
Australian Education Union Victorian branch president Meredith Peace said country schools had long been resorting to special arrangements, including distance education and joint classes, to ensure "all students had access to a broad curriculum and to qualified teachers".
She said, for the most part, the measures were "positive".
"But there is a disparity – we can see very clearly that the outcomes for our kids in rural and regional areas are behind those in metropolitan schools …[and] they do face disadvantage because of that."
She said while there had been "a reasonable and steady supply of graduates coming out of university", it had been difficult to get teachers, particularly those trained in maths, languages and technology, to work outside metropolitan areas.
Ms Haeusler said it had become very rare for graduate teachers who had grown up outside Swan Hill to apply to work at schools in the region.
Ms Peace said social isolation and the availability of housing remained significant barriers for many teachers.
"We need to have conversations about how we can attract people not only in the school community but also the broader community because people won't stay in a country area if they don't feel welcome.
"We have heard of people who haven't been able to get housing, who are commuting long distances or people who have not taken up positions because they cannot find accommodation."
Regional 'hubs' to boost teacher numbers
Donna King from the Australia Catholic University (ACU) said tertiary institutions were introducing new ways to encourage their students to teach away from the big cities after graduation.
Professor King said ACU had partnered with three schools in Swan Hill, including MacKillop College, to set up a pre-service teacher "hub" – an arrangement that would see the university providing students with mentoring and financial support to undertake their teacher placements in the region.
"A lot of them have family and life commitments and can't even consider leaving metropolitan areas but a lot of them don't even know what it is like and that is why having a practical there can give them a taste of it," she said.
"You have to prepare them and make sure the students are really well supported."
She was hopeful that if student teachers had a positive, practical experience at a regional school, they would be more likely to return to take up ongoing or casual relief work after completing their studies.
'More work to be done'
A government spokesperson said there was a range of initiatives in Victoria to support graduates and experienced teachers to work in regional areas.
The 2022/23 budget contained $58.9 million to increase the teacher supply, including the extension of a program offering incentive payments for difficult-to-fill positions, with teachers required to remain in those roles for at least two years.
A spokesperson said the the education department's Supporting Teachers at Regional and Rural Schools initiative also offered "wrap-around support and networks" to teachers and schools as well as access to department housing.
Ms Peace said "proactive programs" like those offered by the state government and ACU were steps in the right direction but there was "more work to be done".
"We cannot land in a situation where we do not have enough teachers," she said.
"The reality is we have some schools that have vacancies that they simply cannot fill.
