Close to 350 members of the NSW Teachers Federation gathered at the Commercial Club to join a live broadcast of the strike outside NSW Parliament, before marching to QEII Square.

Teachers are demanding a pay increase between 5 and 7.5 per cent, as well as more planning time for lessons.

Teachers Federation representative from Howlong Public School, John Curtis, has been a teacher for almost 20 years.

The father-of-two is a part-time teacher, but said if he was in a full-time role, he would have left the profession "years ago".

"I am genuinely scared for the future of public education," he said. "We can't teach kids if we don't have teachers."

He said there had been a steady increase in administration duties, which prevented teachers from teaching their classes in the first place.

"Even as a part-time teacher, the workload is huge," Mr Curtis said.

"If the Department of Education and NSW government isn't going to respect teachers and the work we do, then they're not respecting the kids, and those kids won't have a future."

The staff shortages have also impacted the next generation of teachers, some of whom are taking on more responsibilities at the beginning of their careers.

Union members from James Fallon High School Jeremy Scott and Sarah Firkin were both studying while working full-time.

"Some of us became teachers through this conditional set-up to do some casual days, and as a result of the teacher shortage, we've been convinced by principals to help out full time," Mr Scott said. "We've all taken on full-time workloads and full-time study loads."

Ms Firkin had worked in a casual support role for a term at the school while she studied. Before term two started, she was told she needed to plan for and teach seven classes.

Albury Teachers Association president Craig Jory said the lack of supervision at higher year levels was widespread.

"Imagine doing your HSC and having no teacher in front of you. It's just unacceptable," he said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

In a statement, the NSW education department said: "In the 2021/22 NSW Budget, $125 million was committed over four years to deliver the initiatives included in the Teacher Supply Strategy.

In the first five years of the strategy, 1600 out of 3700 teaching positions would be filled."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: