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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 07 Hansard (Wednesday, 30 June 2004) . . Page.. 3044 ..

deal more support to our students in secondary schooling to prevent some students from dropping out before year 12.

Minister, are you satisfied that your department is picking up, and retaining, students at risk of failing to complete their education? Can you advise what the drop-out rate of students in year 11 was last year?

MS GALLAGHER: I will take the second part of your question on notice because there is an exact figure for that, Mr Cornwell. We certainly have the best retention rates in the country, but it is disturbing that around 10 per cent of those entering year 11 might not continue to year 12. There is a population of students, particularly disadvantaged students who, if they do go to year 11, make a decision for one reason or another that year 12 is not worth completing. It is something that we take very seriously and that everyone in this place would take very seriously. The goal of anyone working in education is to have students complete year 12 because there is no doubt that, if you complete year 12, you are much better placed for your future in terms of the choices you will make.

Quite a bit of work is going on at the moment, particularly in years 9 and 10 and the transition to year 11, to support students and to make that transition easier. Pathway planning is happening for every year 9 and 10 student. They have an individual pathway plan, where in year 9 they start writing down where they would like to be and what courses they would like to do. That is continued in year 10, and then they make the transition to year 11.

The Career Education Support Service, which was funded in last year’s budget, has just had a very successful conference in the ACT. Non-government and government schools came together and talked about how they can best provide career advice and support to students transitioning between year 10 and year 11. That work is being done.

The training pathway guarantee, funded in this year’s budget, targets those students who leave year 12 and may not go on to any other form of employment or training in that first year. I have said that we would not necessarily restrict that to year 12 leavers—but only in the sense that we do not want to encourage people to leave before year 12. But if there are young people who would really benefit from that program, we will be looking at them as well.

I will get back to you with the exact figure. We do well compared to national trends, but there is a population of students we would like to keep in school that is not staying in school.

MR CORNWELL: Mr Speaker, I have a supplementary question. Thank you, Minister, for taking the question about year 11 on notice. Can you advise, simultaneously, the drop-out rate at year 10 and, if possible, the percentage of students who start year 12 but do not finish it?

MS GALLAGHER: Yes.

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