New South Wales (NSW) will need to recruit thousands of new teachers in the next 10 years to meet the demand from record-high student enrolment numbers. A new report (pdf) by economist Adam Rorris commissioned by the NSW Teachers Federation Union projects that public schools need to hire at least 11,000 additional teachers by 2031 to meet the surging number of kindergarten to year 12 enrolments. However, the education department has found that the state already has existing teacher shortages, particularly in STEM fields and rural locations. “This is projected to worsen due to a combination of student population increases, an ageing workforce, and fewer people going into teaching,” NSW Auditor-General Margaret Crawford said in an audit report from 2019 (pdf). “Shortfalls are likely to be more acute in rural and remote areas and areas of low socioeconomic status,” she said. The shortages mean NSW has the lowest teacher-student ratios …