Greens announce $1bn teacher plan in education policy "Australian teachers and principals are under huge amounts of pressure." - Senator Christine Milne. ALMOST a third of public schools would have an extra teacher under the Greens education policy, to be announced today There would also be expanded music and Asian language offerings in the curriculum, along with science and maths. Greens leader Christine Milne will make a $1 billion pledge to add more than 2200 new teachers to disadvantaged public schools. It follows a Greens-led Senate inquiry in June that found concerns about Naplan testing were diverting focus from the curriculum and placing unnecessary stress on teachers and students. "Australian teachers and principals are under huge amounts of pressure and feel extra administrative burdens are pulling them away from time with students in the classroom," Senator Milne said. An extra teacher in disadvantaged schools would mean more time for lesson planning and more time for engaging with students, parents and the community or smaller class sizes. The Greens would also create $100 million in well-being grants to increase mental health and social workers in schools, and commit $20 million to professional development for teachers. There would be $10 million towards an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language component in the national curriculum and $60 million to increasing the take up of Asian languages. This policy direction is reflected by both the Coalition and Labor plans to build on the approximate 5 per cent of students who learn Asian languages in Year 12. A further $20 million would go to expanding music lessons and $10 million towards buying new musical instruments for public schools. There is $1 billion in new spending in today's announcement and the Greens have previously committed $2 billion on top of current government expenditure over the next three years. "Improving our public education system is one of the best investments our nation can make," says Greens education spokesperson Penny Wright. The Australian Greens will invest a total of $3 billion in the next three years to make this a reality. Senator Milne will also call on Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to reveal Coalition costings earlier than the end of this week. We have no idea how vicious and deep Tony Abbott's cuts will be. Regardless of what happens on September 7 the Greens will stand up for our teachers and disadvantaged students in the Senate," she says.