Page 942 - Week 03 - Thursday, 14 March 1991
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Report
MR HUMPHRIES (Minister for Health, Education and the Arts): Mr Speaker, for the information of members I table the following paper:
Education - Department - Report for 1989-90 -
I move:
That the Assembly takes note of the paper.
I have much pleasure in tabling the annual report for the financial year 1989-90 of the former Department of Education which was of course integrated in July 1990 into the new Ministry for Health, Education and the Arts.
In that period the ACT was, as now, much associated with other States in the progress towards important educational reforms initiated by the Australian Education Council. The system has also been strongly influenced by national curriculum work and changes leading towards a new concept of Australian education. Another influence in the financial year under consideration is that both the Commonwealth and the new ACT governments addressed the problems of overfunding of the Territory's education system, as identified by the Grants Commission. I would like to draw attention to some of the first results of these pressures for change at a time of transformation of the status of the ACT itself, and of the services which its Government offers in education. They include: The establishment of a task force dealing with further developments in preschool education; a major examination of ACT high schools, referred to earlier today, and how they might be improved; a cyclical review of the performance of individual schools; the introduction of full fee-paying overseas students into ACT public schools; an agreement with the University of Canberra to promote the teaching of science in preschools and primary schools; a study of the teaching of languages other than English in primary and secondary schools; and a further step forward in the long-term project to reshape the ACT school system to meet changing demographic and economic trends.
In tabling the annual report, I refer to a letter dated 28 February 1991 from the Auditor-General, Mr J. S. O'Neill. He writes that the financial statements are based on proper accounts and records, except that certain recalculations of long-term leave accrual, as agreed upon, will not be carried out until an automated personnel system is implemented. He states also that land and buildings which are controlled and used under the title of the ACT Schools Authority have not been included in the statement of assets and liabilities. These are not issues of major concern.
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