Page 555 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 20 March 1990
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EDUCATION
Ministerial Statement
MR HUMPHRIES (Minister for Health, Education and the Arts), by leave: Mr Speaker, I wish to outline the Alliance Government's position on a number of issues currently affecting schools and preschools in the ACT, and to indicate the Government's objectives for 1990. Unfortunately, it was not possible to make these comments in the debate on the Chief Minister's statement on the Government's objectives so therefore I will make them today in the form of this statement. The Government, of course, is conscious of the quite serious financial pressures facing the ACT and the escalating costs of running public school systems in this country. It is in this context that we will be approaching the issues before us.
The ACT school system is the youngest in Australia and is, perhaps paradoxically, widely recognised as the most highly evolved. Its rapid development has reflected the most useful educational ideals and ideas of recent times. The Government recognises and appreciates the excellence of the system and will seek to build on it.
One of the school system's most valuable assets is its flexibility. Over the last few years it has met and reacted to major changes in two areas. Firstly, it was the first Australian school system to provide a meaningful education for nine out of 10 students in secondary colleges without, in any way, compromising the ideals of excellence. Secondly, in 1989, the State and Commonwealth Ministers for education agreed on a set of national goals and began a project which aims to provide a basis in communication for an "Australian" education. Associated with these initiatives we have begun preparing our part of a national report on schooling in Australia. This willingness and ability to make changes to meet emerging needs is one of the major aspects which contributes to the system's overall quality and performance.
The Government intends to support and build on this tradition. As we enter the last decade of this century the speed and direction of social and economic change is likely to continue to put pressure on educational systems in both budgetary and educational performance areas.
The Government's fundamental objective is the achievement of high standards in all areas of education. This will be achieved through the provision of choice and equality of opportunity for all students within a system of well-ordered, high quality, self-managing schools. This will require skilled, highly motivated teachers, together with the means to ensure that the views of parents, teachers, students and the wider community are taken into account in decision making and policy formulation at all levels.
I would now like to outline a number of areas of particular importance to this Government. The school system is a
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