Page 1670 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 18 May 1994
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At its first meeting on 1 December 1992, I asked the advisory council to provide advice as soon as it was practicable and possible about how we can continue to provide high-quality educational services to meet the genuine educational needs of all students and at the same time respond to the twin pressures of shifting student populations and reductions in resources for education. The council has now provided me with this advice. As well as relying on the input from its broadly representative membership, the advisory council has consulted widely in undertaking this task. This is a substantial piece of work. I thank the council for the considerable effort which has gone into producing the report.
What advice is the advisory council giving us? Members of the Assembly will not be surprised to hear that the advisory council concludes that there is much good in the ACT government school system at present. They report a high degree of enthusiasm among parents, teachers, students, administrators and the wider community. They draw attention to the high degree of satisfaction that students and parents have experienced through the school performance and review process for ACT schooling. Equally, members will not be surprised that the advisory council finds that there are a number of significant adjustments the ACT public education system should make. The report documents a climate of change, of growing demands on the system, and rising expectations about the services a quality school system should provide.
The report expresses concern about three areas of education in particular. It has highlighted the need to address students' skills in literacy and numeracy, particularly in the early years of schooling. It also discusses the need to address the personal and social aspects of educating young adolescents in the middle years of schooling. A third issue is the need to provide a cohesive and integrated approach to vocational education and training for students seeking this in the post-compulsory years.
The report suggests a framework for initiatives to meet new demands and rising expectations and to address the identified areas of need. The framework is based on four key principles: The school and the system exist to provide optimal learning outcomes for students; all students have an equal right of access to the system, and this access is not to be at the expense of other students; a public education system should encourage outcomes which help achieve social and economic equity in the community; and, finally, the ACT public education system is an integrated one where individual schools have considerable autonomy within a systemic framework. The existing mechanisms for consultation, which are vital in managing tensions between schools as individual units and as part of the wider system, should be broadened and strengthened. Against this background, the report has two very clear messages: Our schools should consciously focus on individual student outcomes against specific learning tasks; and increased flexibility in the way we organise the schooling and in the way students progress through their years of schooling is the key to continuing higher-quality education in a cost-effective way.
The council makes 14 specific recommendations. Consistent with the terms of reference, the report focuses on strategies to achieve more and better educational outcomes for our students. Of course, we already have one of the best education systems in the country and our teachers are working at making government schools more effective.
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