Page 1981 - Week 05 - Thursday, 3 May 2012
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or disadvantage states. That is why I have called publicly for very strong leadership at our government level, at the ACT government level, to ensure that we are going to get a good deal. I would hope that all leaders across all states and territories are doing the same. And that is not just for the government system but for all of the systems.
We also, of course, need to look at this national partnership agreement on skills reform. And I would say the same thing: we need strong leadership to ensure that we are not going to end up with a downgraded TAFE system in this territory. What has happened in recent years is greater contestability in this space. We need to make sure that we look after our local CIT and ensure that private courses that are provided are of a high quality and that that sector is supported so that it can deliver high quality courses.
These are some of the challenges we face, and I look forward to being part of future debates on this matter.
MR DOSZPOT (Brindabella) (4.11): I thank Mr Coe for bringing this matter of public importance to the Assembly for discussion today—the future of education in the ACT. Given the performance of the ACT government over the past 11 years and, more particularly, the performance of the new minister for education in recent weeks, one can cynically wonder whether education does in fact have a future in the ACT under these conditions. But then I recall the hundreds of visits I have made to schools across the ACT in government and non-government schools over the last three years, the enthusiastic students that I have met, the committed teachers and hard-working principals I have spoken with, the school concerts, plays, assemblies and awards nights that I have been part of, and I know that there is a wonderful present and an even better future.
ACT education enjoys a favourable reputation around Australia, and that is deserved. We need to recognise that Canberra has a unique social demographic layout and that this provides both opportunities and challenges for, among other things, education. For a start, we have a different school structure from other states. Our schools move from preschool to primary to high school and we have a separate college system for the last two years of schooling. There are nearly 68,000 students enrolled in 150 schools in the ACT. The majority of ACT schools are government schools. Canberra Catholic schools are the next largest group, followed by Canberra independent schools.
The majority of ACT and Canberra schools are co-educational, with a small number of single-sex schools. Among non-government schools there are Catholic schools and independent schools representing a range of religious faiths or in fact no denomination.
While the majority of schools are government schools, we know Canberra is unique in the number of students that attend a non-government school—over 40 per cent across all sectors and over 50 per cent in high school. Unique indeed. There are various reasons offered to explain this: Canberra’s affluence, the strength of and support for the Catholic faith in Canberra, the preference for a single-sex school, the concern for stronger discipline and stronger culture.
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