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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 1 Hansard (13 December) . . Page.. 250 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

There is no doubt that Canberra's public education system is effective and successful. Canberra's schools rank as the best in the country, but there is still work to be done to maintain the standards of our education system as well as further improve the quality of services. Importantly from a social justice perspective, there is also critical work to be done in improving outcomes for children and families from disadvantaged circumstances and implementing a strategic framework to achieve this.

Since the election of the new government I have already undertaken a wide range of meetings with people within the education sector. I will be continuing this process as details of the government's education agenda are moved towards implementation. Our election platform clearly stated that quality education is one of this government's priorities. We recognise that it is fundamental to the social and economic development of the ACT.

Our community shall have full and equal access to high-quality education at all levels. In particular, access to education must not be limited by social, cultural, economic or other similar determinants.

We all acknowledge the critical role education plays in providing pathways for people to employment and economic security. That is why this government wants to target education programs by recognising the imperative to provide access to information technology in our schools and to ensure class sizes provide effective learning.

The chief resources of knowledge, ideas and skills are essential to our economic growth and to the capacity of all our city's citizens to participate equally in the future of our community. We in the ACT have a perfect opportunity to prosper through our skills, the cumulative learning of our work force, and our primary assets will be our citizens' skills and insights. Individual societies and economies face very different futures, according to whether they recognise these realities or not.

For all of these reasons, Mr Speaker, as you would know, over the next four years the government will redirect the $27 million that was previously allocated to the free school bus scheme to the education of our children and young people. This funding is in addition to the funding provided by the previous government.

Three million dollars will be allocated for information technology for schools in next year's budget. New technologies pervade every dimension of our social and economic life, and we must equip our children and young people not only to get by with technology but to thrive and to broaden the possibilities for its use.

Further, to support the educational outcomes for early primary school students, we propose to inject funds into the reduction of class sizes in public schools, starting in 2002. Currently the ratio is one teacher to 25 kindergarten students and one per 30 students for years 1 to 3. Arrangements have been made to resource classes on the basis of one teacher per 25 students in kindergarten to year 2 in 2002, one teacher per 23 students in kindergarten to year 3 in 2003, and one teacher per 21 students in 2004. This means that for the first four years of schooling government schools will be funded to allow class sizes of only 21 students by 2004.

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