Page 3220 - Week 10 - Thursday, 17 September 2015
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I will start with some commentary on our investment and infrastructure. In May this year Minister Burch announced an additional $18.4 million for major refurbishments and new facilities for Belconnen High. The investment was in addition to the $2.2 million already allocated in previous budgets to prepare the site and undertake initial upgrades. Stage 2 of the Belconnen High School modernisation project will progress over the next three years. Detailed design work commenced immediately with construction and refurbishment work expected to commence in February 2016 to be completed by late 2017.
In addition to this major upgrade this year the ACT government also committed $30.3 million for the north Gungahlin primary to year 6 school scheduled to open in January 2019; $3.6 million to replace the roofs at Melrose High School and Mt Stromlo High School; $6.5 million for a specialist learning centre at Caroline Chisholm School to provide science, technology, engineering and maths programs to students across Tuggeranong; and $1 million for feasibility studies for a years 7 to 10 high school in north Gungahlin and a primary to year 10 school in Molonglo. The budget will also provide a new CIT campus at Tuggeranong and upgrades to the Bruce and Reid campuses to allow for courses to be delivered where they are needed.
But our investment does not stop at school buildings. In the 2014-15 ACT budget $9.2 million was allocated through the sustaining smart schools initiative to upgrade and maintain our schools’ information and communication technology infrastructure, including the expansion of wireless access points in schools to increase access to digital learning as part of the digital Canberra initiative. In 2015-16, $37.8 million has been committed to replace and upgrade computers and expand wireless capability across ACT primary schools whilst maintaining critical, centrally provided ICT support services.
The ACT government has also a bold target to achieve carbon neutrality in public schools by 2017. The ACTSmart schools program, an excellent program run by passionate people, helps schools support the government with this target. The program provides free support, practical tips, tools and resources to help all schools more sustainably manage their energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Every public school built before 2011 has had a comprehensive energy audit and received an audit report and a free energy best practice guide. The guide provides step by step instructions and recommendations to help schools reduce energy consumption, conduct walk-through energy audits and develop an energy action plan. Schools that implement audit recommendations, adopt sustainable energy management strategies, demonstrate reductions in energy consumption and prove they are committed to saving energy can be accredited under the ACTSmart schools program.
Our government has also focused on the quality of the overwhelmingly wonderful teachers in our schools. The ACT Teacher Quality Institute—the TQI—was established by the ACT government in 2010 to raise the standing of the teaching profession across all sectors in the ACT and to strengthen the quality and sustainability of the teaching workforce. The purpose of the institute is to uphold the standards of the teaching profession in the ACT; provide quality assurance processes to support the delivery of education in schools in a professional and competent way
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