Page 106 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 8 April 1992
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
To familiarise members with the background to some of this, little attention was paid to high schools when the ACT public education system was established in the mid-1970s. The focus in those days was secondary colleges - the need to treat young people in years 11 and 12 as young adults, doing away with school uniforms, and providing young people with generous curriculum options in educational institutions catering specifically for their needs. The resourcing of secondary colleges has continued to remain above the resourcing available for high schools in the ACT.
Since then we have had three years of self-government and the current Minister for Education, Bill Wood, has been in the position for some months. Since the time in the mid-1970s when the ACT public education system was established in its own right, high schools have been subjected to an everlasting run of reviews. A major report, produced some years ago now, was called "Cohesion, Co-ordination and Communication". The Belconnen region high schools task force reported in 1991 again and drew the community's attention, and the Government's attention, to the need to better resource high schools.
Public schooling enrolment figures have indicated for some time that it is in the high school years, from year 7 to year 10, that a greater majority of parents and students opt for a non-government school education, after having completed primary schooling in the government system, and often in years 11 and 12 return to the government system. The ACT Government, the Department of Education, high school principals, teachers, parents and students know what needs to be done to address the issues that particularly pertain to high schools.
I want to remind members of what some of these issues currently are. High schools definitely need improved student management in classrooms. The way to achieve this is to ease the staffing formula and allow high schools to address this problem. However, we find that high schools are under-resourced in terms of being able effectively to bring this about, even though the Department of Education supports an integrated resource model.
Due to continuing cutbacks in education over many years, schools are having to do more with less - particularly high schools. There are difficulties with the truancy of high school children in that there are no truancy officers to follow up students who are not attending school. Another major issue for high schools is the refurbishment program. They desperately need improvements to their school buildings, attention to maintenance and furniture replacement. High schools need to be more attractive and inviting places for young people to be to continue their education in those years. Another need is the familiarisation by school staff with services to young people in general available in the ACT. This will better assist them to meet the needs of the young people that they are working with every day in schools.
What is needed at the moment is a commitment by the Chief Minister and her Labor Government to address the issue of a high schools development program in this term of government, with adequate resourcing with which to do it.
MADAM SPEAKER: It being almost 12.30 pm, the debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 77 as amended by temporary order.
Sitting suspended from 12.24 to 2.30 pm
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .