Members of the NSW Teachers Federation gathered in towns across the state yesterday, including most of Cobar's state school teachers, to take action against the State Government.

On Wednesday 4 May, teachers from the Cobar High School and Cobar Public School joined with the NSW Teachers Federation to protest against the State Government's revelation that they are considering lowering teaching qualifications as a means to resolve the staffing crisis.

Brett Bertalli, the Local Media Contact for the Teachers Federation, said that "teachers are angered" by this idea on the basis that the State Government knows it will not provide solution to the crisis.

"Only providing a competitive wage and addressing workload will attract and retain teachers to the profession. Inevitably this will lower the quality of education for our students without resolving the staffing crisis. It is gimmickry and political spin which avoids the causes of the staffing crisis," Mr Bertalli said.

An estimated 55,000 teachers are taking part in this strike, with the majority of teachers in Cobar participating to express their frustration.

So many teachers took part in the strike that both schools were closed for the day, a situation that occurred in a number of communities across the western plains.

Like many other regional areas, Cobar faces a reccurring challenge to secure teachers and maintain staffing numbers, but Mr Bertalli said that "our rural and remote schools will bear the brunt of the staffing shortage most over the next few years if the government does not address uncompetitive salaries and unsustainable workloads."

He said the impacts of staff shortages that schools and teachers are facing include collapsed classes, classes without a teacher, minimal supervision and, in some cases, classes not taught at all.

"Teachers attend school when ill knowing there is no one to replace them," Mr Bertalli said. "And professional learning can sometimes be cancelled due to lack of teachers to cover classes."

The thorny issue of pay rates was also part of the motivation for teachers and the campaign's 'More Than Thanks' slogan is a direct message to the State Government.

"We absolutely require a salary and condition reset, a 5-7.5% pay rise for teachers and a reduction in administrative burden as well as an additional two hours release from face to face teaching," he said. 

"This is the only way to attract and retain the numbers of teachers we require right now let alone into the future."

Mr Bertalli congratulated those who took part in the strike action.

"Teachers have honoured their inherent responsibility to do everything they can to ensure every child has a qualified teacher in front of every class," he said.