An estimated 85 percent of teachers in the region have walked out of their classrooms in a statewide protest action by members of the NSW Teachers Federation and Independent Education Union of Australia.

IEUA representative Anne Maree McIlwen said the Dubbo rally was part of the 16 rallies held across cities and towns including in the ACT on Thursday, June 30, to manifest the crisis at schools as more teachers are leaving the profession.

She and Central West IEUA representative Ian Street, who teaches at St Matthews Catholic College in Mudgee came to Dubbo to join their colleagues in long-running negotiations with the education department.

Mr Street said the teachers in both public and private schools have the backing of their students' parents that's why they were able to get out of their classrooms to protest.

"Effectively our schools are opened today to supervise some students at school but there are no normal classes because there are not enough teachers to take care of the students.

"We find that parents are supportive of our calls so most parents are keeping their children at home to support our claims for action."

After marching the city's main streets, the teachers - joined by some parents and students carrying placards for them - gathered at the Rotunda on Macquarie Street.

At the rotunda, a rally speaker said they were hoping to hear from Dubbo MP Dugald Saunders.

The Daily Liberal caught up with Mr Saunders in a midday event at Lourdes Hospital and Community Health Service at Coborra Road and asked him to comment on the teachers' protest.

"I haven't received an invitation to meet with anyone today. I wasn't aware they were hoping to meet me today. But I have spoken with the minister [for education Sarah Mitchell] and I have met with a couple of teachers' groups locally about their concerns," Mr Saunders said.

"All of those discussions are with her as the minister for education...[as I understood] she has been working with the teachers' federation for a long time now and I am confident that there will be a good pathway for teachers and the government."

The teachers' proposal to lift the wages cap to three percent every year, Mr Saunders said, was "more than the pay rise, pay is just one part of that, they are also looking at different working conditions."

Mr Saunders also said he was not aware COVID vaccination mandate for teachers are still required saying he is aware "there are no more mandates around COVID and there are no mandates about teachers" required to be vaccinated to be able to get back to work at schools.

The Daily Liberal has contacted the education minister's office and a spokesman for regional schools confirmed that almost half of the public schools around NSW have "disruption" to normal classes as a result of the statewide protest.

At least 25 percent of the schools have faced "severe disruption" but school principals have made efforts to ensure the schools were open during the protest action.

Some schools around Dubbo have maintained a skeleton staffing to provide minimal supervision to the students who came to school on Thursday while their teachers are on a 24-hour strike.

A year 9 student at St John's College was riding his push bike along Tamworth Street and said they were told to stay home on Thursday due to the teachers' strike.

But he would be staying home until Friday and looking forward to the upcoming school holidays he was comfortable to be off school for a little while.

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