Page 1990 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 5 June 1990
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in securing jobs and higher-education places ... A recent Commonwealth Department of Education survey shows that the ACT performs at double the national average in this regard.
Mr Humphries, do you agree with Dr Price's evidence that, on the basis of the Grants Commission's alleged overspending on education in the ACT, the performance of our schools represents a productivity almost 70 per cent above average?
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, it is difficult to comment in detail on the evidence Mr Wood is quoting from Dr Price concerning these things.
Mr Wood: This is part of the debate.
MR HUMPHRIES: Yes, I am sure. I have seen indications of that high quality in our school system and I acknowledge and support that. In fact, I released a document a few months ago at the Dickson College referring to some of the success that the ACT education system has had in producing graduates who not only go on to higher education but also achieve job success.
I am also aware that the ACT has one of the highest, if not still the highest, youth unemployment rates in Australia. I accept that, in certain respects, our education system performs exceptionally well. I also accept, however, that it is not so brilliant, so perfect, that it cannot be improved. It is my ambition to secure improvements in our education system without causing concern to the community or causing any serious loss to the quality of the system overall.
MR WOOD: Mr Speaker, I have a supplementary question. Do those improvements mean the closure of schools? Are you aiming to improve schools or close them?
MR HUMPHRIES: I am aiming to improve schools. This may involve the closure of schools. The Government has indicated its belief that it is possible to achieve both those things at once. That, of course, will depend very much on the way in which it is done and the way in which the Government addresses the financial considerations underpinning the need to find money in our school system. I think Mr Wood has had ample evidence of the Government's intentions in this regard. I can assure him that educational priorities will come to the fore and we will ensure in the long term that the ACT education system is sustained as much as possible, irrespective of the diminishing of our financial base.
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