Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 1 Hansard (13 December) . . Page.. 252 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

commitment recognises the importance of personal support and welfare assistance, including counselling services in secondary schools and colleges.

We will also commit to achieving equality for indigenous students. As I outlined earlier today, we will see the development of individual education plans for indigenous students to improve their educational achievements. We will see the recruitment of more indigenous teachers and the enhancement of the home/school liaison program.

Further, the employment of two executive officers to work with high school teachers to develop strategies to meet the needs of students at risk because of low levels of literacy and numeracy will also proceed. This will improve our students' levels of competencies across all areas.

All schools will develop literacy and numeracy plans in line with a system-wide strategy. We will also provide professional development for teachers at all levels of schooling to meet the needs identified through literacy and numeracy testing.

Professional development of our teachers is equally important. This government will ensure that ACT schools are staffed with fully qualified and skilled teachers, are connected to the global learning community through information technologies and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

We will also commence a longer term inquiry into education funding. As I have said, it is important to get these things right-to reassess and plan for directions of education and its impact on society in the medium to long term. The time to plan for the future is now. To this end, we intend to involve the critical players in the education of our community-professionals, parents and carers, students and community leaders.

Continuing professional development of staff in the vocational education and training sector is also a key element in fostering quality education for all members of our society. As teachers of the future work force, vocational education and training teachers must have made available to them opportunities to enable them to develop links with industry to ensure they are up to date with the latest in technology and industry improvements.

Knowledge and the ability to use it are the major individual and community assets of the future, and they need continuous maintenance and development. This is also true in our school communities if teachers are to bring out the best in the ACT's children. Learning throughout life was once an optional extra. It has now become an inescapable imperative. We will support the professional development of our teaching staff.

Dr Peter Ellyard, in a recent speech to the Australian National Training Authority National Conference, stated:

In this context, institutes such as the Canberra Institute of Technology have a critical role, in this government's view, in providing ongoing opportunities for people to continually upgrade and/or develop new skills through lifelong learning. We will

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .