Page 1679 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 18 May 1994
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Let me tell you of some of the things that are happening. For example, there is striking evidence in today's paper about the quality of our education. Today's Canberra Times carries the uncontested statement that more than 19,000 students in ACT public schools are studying a language other than English. That compares with a national participation rate in languages of only about 13 per cent. Our students, from primary school onwards, are studying Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The Education Department was one of the first schools authorities in the country to introduce the teaching of the Thai language, which it did last year. ACT public schools have been some of the most zealous in Australia in taking up the resources of the Magnet schools project, which the Commonwealth initiated several years ago to improve school students' knowledge of Asian languages and culture. In keeping with Commonwealth Government priorities, our work in this area is ahead of what is happening in the rest of Australia.
As another sure indicator of high, above national average quality, ACT students are far ahead of those in any other State in gaining direct entry into universities. I acknowledge that that is not due simply to the school system, but without the school system that could not happen. A study made by the independent Australian Council for Educational Research finds that 38 per cent of ACT Year 12 students progress to universities directly. That is nine percentage points ahead of those on the next level, in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. The ACT also has the highest proportion of students completing Year 12. The number equates to 97 per cent of the students who enrolled in Year 7, compared with the Australian average of 71 per cent. Let me put a disclaimer there; you would need to know exactly what those figures mean, too, and how they are compiled.
I now turn to a more or less chronological survey of the achievements of, and prospects for, ACT public school students. The ACT has the highest participation rate in preschool education of any State or Territory, and we are seeking to strengthen this further with the establishment in the department of an early childhood services unit. The unit would increase high-quality support to preschools and oversee the piloting of an early literacy skilling professional development program or early childhood teaching team. Overseas and Australian research indicates that eventual savings to the public for every dollar invested in high-quality preschool programs are substantial. The ACT has led Australia in the provision of such programs since 1944, and their benefits are reflected in the very high success rates for subsequent schooling that I have already mentioned.
Right across the 13 years of schooling the department now has in place a comprehensive and articulated curriculum strategy which will guide ACT schools into the twenty-first century. Next week I will launch the key document of this strategy, and I understand that all members of this Assembly have been invited for the occasion. I hope that we see Ms Szuty there. In the ACT we have been able to incorporate valuable work from the nationally developed statements and profiles into our own curriculum frameworks in the eight key learning areas, and we have done that ahead of any other State or Territory in Australia. This is some of the most significant work happening in Australian education at the moment, and I do not think I have ever had a question in this Assembly on this or
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .