JUST 24 per cent of teachers in Canberra's public schools are men but, one academic says, the focus should be on having good teachers and not on their gender.
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With three-quarters of teaching ranks now female, Professor Louise Watson said, schools were not the only sources of male role models.
''Teachers don't spend as much with students as [students] spend with their parents,'' Professor Watson said.
The education expert from the University of Canberra said the argument about the ratio of male and female teachers was based on the trend of men having a stronger maths background during their tertiary education while those of women slanted towards humanities.
The national capital has for years struggled to attract male teachers.
In 2009, 26 per cent of teachers were male and a year ago it was 22 per cent.
Opposition education spokesman Steve Doszpot said the lack of male teachers was worrying and the government needed to work out how to attract more men to the profession.
Jobs in the education sector are being advertised by the ACT government even though the school year has started.
Seventeen jobs are available, 11 of them for teachers, several of them senior posts with salaries of more than $100,000 a year.
O'Connor Co-operative School needs a principal, who will be paid up to $156,000 a year, and there are two vacancies for deputy principals.
Secretary of the Australian Education Union's ACT branch Glenn Fowler said some persistent myths around teaching needed to be dispelled.
''That argument that men don't go into teaching because of fears they will be accused of inappropriate dealings with kids is a furphy,'' he said.
''That is occasionally the spin put on this but I think the issue is about remuneration and recognition and status.''
Belconnen High School is searching for an executive teacher for a six-figure salary while Canberra High School needs a maths teacher and Lyneham High School a physical education teacher.
Primary schools including Monash, Neville Bonner, Palmerston District and Maribyrnong need teachers too.
An education directorate spokesman said vacancies increased and dropped throughout the year due to factors such as maternity and parenting leave, promotions or resignations and retirements.
''The directorate has no evidence these positions are difficult to fill,'' the spokesman said.
''Last year we interviewed over 800 applicants for teaching positions in ACT public schools over the course of the year.''
Meanwhile, Canberra Institute of Technology has advertised for three teachers and three heads of department.
