Hundreds of Victorian teachers to walk off job to protest for refugees

Neil Mitchell has clashed with a teacher after it emerged hundreds were planning to walk out of classrooms next month to protest.

They’re demanding children on Nauru and Manus Island be brought to Australia.

Teachers for Refugees is organising a rally at the State Library on November 20 to coincide with Universal Children’s Day.

Neil Mitchell agrees the children should be taken out of the detention centres.

However, he says politics had no place in the classroom and teachers had crossed a line.

“Our kids are being dragged into a political fight,” he said.

He spoke with Lucy Honan from Teachers For Refugees.

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Victorian education minister James Merlino says while teachers should encourage students to think critically about a range of issues, they should not use their positions to make political statements.

He says it’ll be up to the department to decide if there are any repercussions.