Page 4774 - Week 15 - Thursday, 8 December 1994
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It should continue. Madam Speaker, I realise that the savings are not so great with promotion positions as they are with teachers who are on the top of the scale; but the impact on morale will be fantastic, and that, of course, is the real challenge for any Minister for Education. It is a matter that I have spoken to Mr Wood about on numerous occasions. He would agree with me that morale is a major issue in education. Having teachers with good morale means a positive classroom atmosphere, and that contributes more than many other things to good educational outcomes. Madam Speaker, what we are really on about is good educational outcomes. That is what we need to work to, and this report assists us in doing that.
MR WOOD (Minister for Education and Training, Minister for the Arts and Heritage and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning) (10.55): Madam Speaker, this report presented the results of a review of the effectiveness and efficiency of the management of the ACT government schooling program. Report No. 6 is one of a series of such reviews covering various programs across the ACT Government. The government schooling program was selected early in the series because it consumes a significant proportion of ACT Government expenditure. The audit was conducted under contract by the accounting and consulting firm, Arthur Andersen. The audit methodology and content of the report was critically reviewed by Professor Fenton Sharpe from the School of Education, University of New South Wales, and the audit was coordinated by Mr Phillip Hextall of the Government Audit Office. The audit report concludes that, in general, the government schooling program delivers its services effectively, although there were growing pressures needing to be addressed. The Public Accounts Committee was provided with comments from me on the matters raised by the audit report, and submissions were received from the ACT Branch of the Australian Education Union, school boards, the P and C Association, and principals associations. The report from the PAC was tabled in September 1994.
Madam Speaker, the Government has agreed to five of the recommendations. I think at this stage I should table the Government's response to that report. I note that it has been circulated in the chamber. I will formally table the Government's response to that report. As I said, the Government has agreed to five of the recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee. It has noted two of the recommendations, indicating that their implementation is subject to the availability of funding. The Government observes that the recommendation for a review of class size is a matter for the Auditor-General to consider.
Madam Speaker, Mr Moore made some comments. The Government is, as always, continuing to maintain a very high quality of education, with a very high level of resources. Mr Moore noted that we had made modest additions to counselling in schools, and, if I heard him correctly, he suggested that there had been some other reductions. I am not sure that I would agree with that. I will go and check my figures.
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