Page 888 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 20 April 2021
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University entry requirements in the ACT are comparatively low—an ATARS of around 48. I agree with the Australian Education Union that that is too low. I note, as an aside, that I look forward to working, on the matters that we agree with, cooperatively with the Australian Education Union in the interests of teachers and students. I look forward to doing that. We will not agree on everything, but we will look to find common ground.
We know that there are shortages of teachers in maths, science, languages and library services. I note that there is money in the budget—which I welcome—to help address that issue. We do not have enough men taking up the job as teachers, and I think that that impacts on role models for boys, which is important.
With regard to the curriculum, there are reviews that are taking place, and have taken place. It is very important that we draw the lessons from what is happening, certainly in New South Wales. The issues with the ACT include variability between schools and what is being taught, the curriculum being too cluttered and the content potentially being too shallow and not encouraging deep thinking. The curriculum in high school does not encourage tackling more difficult subjects, particularly those that are needed in increasingly complex future jobs, and there is too much subject choice in the curriculum, diffusing the focus on developing and extending important central knowledge and skills acquisition across all ages.
With respect to school autonomy, I think I would agree with the Australian Education Union that we need to strike the right balance. In the ACT we have considerable autonomy devolved to school leaders, and it is an issue where we need to get the balance right. The ACT Auditor-General recently said:
A better balance between school autonomy and consistency across schools in how performance information is analysed and used is needed.
I agree that it is not just necessarily about performance indicators. A similar conclusion was arrived at by an independent inquiry into the New South Wales system, reporting in 2021, that we need a strong, coordinated public education system, not a collection of schools. I think we do not have the balance right at the moment.
Infrastructure is a matter that we have debated, and I note that there is a committee inquiry, but as the Auditor-General concluded in a 2019 report with regard to the maintenance of ACT government school infrastructure, the Education Directorate has a sound framework for the management of school assets, but its implementation is hampered by poor supporting systems and processes. He went on to say that the Education Directorate did not have a clear and consolidated understanding of school infrastructure asset conditions, that annual asset maintenance planning undertaken by the schools was inconsistent and that, where plans were produced, they varied in their purpose, quality and comprehensiveness.
We have seen a lot of increased maintenance cost. This is an issue that will continue to be litigated, particularly through the committee inquiry, and I look forward to participating in that. That also goes to school capacity. We know that some schools
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