Page 3118 - Week 07 - Thursday, 30 June 2011
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We have a situation where the minister for education is now even more off-side with the public school sector than ever before. He would appear to care even less about the non-government schools sector. Regrettably, as the estimates committee report reflects, the hearings were not as informative as they could have been, with much time taken up, firstly, with speculating on what the government might do to address the exodus from the public high school system and then discussion on and about the late-hour drop of the excellence and enterprise brochure that anticipates a “blueprint for action”.
I note the committee’s comments that they were:
… uncertain why such a glossy document—
Mr Barr, note “such a glossy document”—
was required to preface the concrete strategies that would be developed in the coming months.
These are not my words, Mr Barr. This is the committee’s assessment of the window dressing that goes on. The report goes on to say that it was:
… not clear to the committee how the approach being adopted would address the quality and reputation of ACT government high schools and how the 14 per cent differential between primary and high school enrolment figures would be addressed.
The minister suggests this brochure, this “blueprint for action”, provides the framework for the keys to bring students and families back to public schools. We will see. I suspect a whole heap more work will need to be done to reduce the cynical disinterest among the schools sector entirely generated by the minister’s dismissive approach to so many issues in his portfolio.
The committee, in recommendation 116 of its report, recommended:
… the ACT Government advise the Legislative Assembly of the timetable for the ‘blueprint for action’ in their response to the report.
The government’s response, of course, does not have much substance. It suggests yet another steering group. This one, an excellence and enterprise steering group, has been convened to provide guidance on an implementation plan for the excellence and enterprise framework. There we go; another framework. This is beginning to sound familiar. I quote again:
It is anticipated that the ‘blueprint for action’ with short, medium and long-term strategies will be available by the end of 2011.
That is, the blueprint will be available by the end of this year when something actually will start to happen. What that action will be, is yet to be discovered.
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