Page 967 - Week 04 - Thursday, 7 May 2020
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period. With a number of courses where apprentices are engaged with employers, some of those employers have found it difficult to continue with those trainees on site, for example. I will come back with some specifics about that, and some numbers for you, Mr Wall. CIT are very confident that they have various measures in place to allow all students to continue some form of learning throughout this term.
Schools––COVID-19
MS LEE: My question is to the Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development. Minister, why did many of the ACT government schoolteachers learn that they were expected to return to face-to-face teaching only via the Canberra Times article this morning?
MS BERRY: I do not know that that is the case. I understand that there were some comments from some teachers, but I have been, and the directorate and my office have been, working closely with the teachers’ representatives, their union and their council. Their communication with their members is understood to be very clear and provided often, and I am sure that the union will make sure that they do everything they can to represent their members.
MS LEE: Minister, what type of communication or consultation did you have with teachers prior to the decision to reverse the current hub school arrangement, which, even up to yesterday, you were defending?
MS BERRY: The ACT government has 8,000 employees across its schools. I obviously have not been able to talk with every individual who is employed across our schools. That is why we have been dealing with their union, which is appropriate, as the representative of teachers in the ACT, and with the school principals association directly and through their union as well.
MRS JONES: Minister, will you table all of the advice that you have received from the ACT Health Directorate, the Australian government Department of Health and all other sources around this decision by the close of business today?
MS BERRY: If that information is available and I can table it then I will do my best to ensure that that occurs.
Education—COVID-19
MS LAWDER: My question is to the Minister for Education. Minister, there are reports that ATAR assessments will be altered to accommodate the changed circumstances this year. When will schools and students know what the new assessment timetable and format will be?
MS BERRY: ATAR is a national issue, so we will need to be engaging with universities as well, as to what that will look like. The BSSS and our colleges will be communicating with students when those conversations have occurred and when more detail is available.
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