Page 4775 - Week 15 - Thursday, 8 December 1994
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Mr Moore: The overall result was a reduction.
MR WOOD: I am not sure about the accuracy of that remark. In relation to professional development, the Government has provided quite substantial additional funds for professional development with the introduction of the profiles into our school system. We are supporting new initiatives with professional development funds. In relation to the packages, I would also indicate, as members will have noticed, that in report No. 8 the Auditor-General has commented on the implementation of that policy, the packages, and has indicated, among other things, how that might be done better if we were to do that again in the future. I have noted the Auditor-General's remarks, as I am sure other members have.
MR KAINE (10.59), in reply: This particular Auditor-General's report was a very important one, and one that needed prompt attention. The Public Accounts Committee made a number of recommendations which requested that the Government take action on specific aspects. It is pleasing to note that the Government has taken most of those recommendations seriously. Several of them had to do with the fact that there simply was not proper data. There was no database which allowed the Auditor-General or anybody else to compare the performance of the ACT education system with the performance of other education systems, and we suggested that the Government should set about creating a database that would allow that kind of assessment to done. The Government, I see, has agreed to that, and also has agreed to update their performance indicators and the like - things that you would expect them to pick up and process.
I am disappointed that the Government has merely noted the recommendation that the Department of Education and Training examine ways of providing schools with additional full-time student counsellors. It was obvious to the committee, from the evidence that was put to us, that there is an enormous amount of stress in our schools. The students are experiencing it and, because of that, teachers are experiencing it. It is hardly enough, given the circumstances that exist in our schools, to expect a limited number of counsellors to handle the workload. The lack of an adequate number of counsellors leads to the teachers themselves, who are already under stress, accepting a higher level of stress in attempting to resolve the problems of their students. The system is a lot different today from what it used to be. It used to be that kids' problems, by and large, were dealt with in the family. It seems that that is no longer the case. They bring their problems into the classroom with them, and they are of many and diverse natures. The teachers and the counsellors struggle to do the best they can under the circumstances.
Whether or not we compare favourably with New South Wales or some other State in terms of the provision of counsellors is not the point. The point is that we have a problem in our schools that needs to be addressed. Of all of the recommendations, of all of the material that the Auditor-General brought before the committee and which the committee looked at, I think that that is the most significant one because, without an adequate number of counsellors, the level of tension is going to increase. It is difficult for students to learn and it is difficult for teachers to teach while the present situation prevails.
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