The Liberal Government is laying the foundations to create a job-ready generation.
Last month we announced a review of the Education Act 1994. A Discussion Paper has been developed and the Government has now written to key stakeholders, Mayors and all parliamentarians seeking feedback.
The Act is more than 20 years old. The review will canvas all aspects of the legislation, which will include investigation into compulsory starting and leaving school ages.
The review will consider lowering the school starting age to four years and six months to align with other states, and extending the school leaving age to 18.
This could result in 2000 more young Tasmanians finishing Year 12 or the equivalent each year.
This Government is determined to see more young Tasmanians completing Year 12 because we know that doing so enhances their employment prospects.
We are delivering on our commitment to extend high schools to Year 12 to improve retention and we have employed 25 specialist literacy and numeracy teachers, as promised, to give extra help to those students who need it most.
The Liberal Government has, at its heart, a commitment to raising educational standards because we believe that if we can lift education, we can lift Tasmania.
The Discussion Paper canvasses a range of options and themes and is available from www.education.tas.gov.au. Submissions close on 31 December 2014.
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