The Liberal Government is getting on with delivering our long-term plan for Tasmania, part of which is lifting education standards.
The forthcoming Budget is all about keeping our promises, fixing the budget mess and laying the foundations for the future.
This year's National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results, released today, reinforces the need for the Liberal Government's investment in education.
The results are an indictment on the former Labor and Labor-Green governments, which failed our students, experimenting with the education system and providing little stability for teachers and students.
There can be no sugar-coating the fact that Tasmania continues to be ranked sixth or seventh out of all states and territories on most indicators.
While there was some welcome improvement compared to the Australian average, there is still much work to be done.
What is particularly troubling is that fewer Tasmanian students achieved at the national minimum standard in Year 9 reading and Year 7 and 9 spelling compared to the previous year.
No better case can be made for the Liberal Government's move to urgently introduce 25 new literacy and numeracy specialist teachers in Tasmanian schools.
These specialists will complement and support teachers in the classroom.
The stark reality is that students who are failing to meet the national minimum standards are in danger of completing their schooling without the functional literacy and numeracy skills they need to succeed in the modern world.
That's why we are investing in literacy and numeracy teachers to help those students who are falling through the cracks and to improve our overall education outcomes.
Clearly, today's results demonstrate the need for this investment, and also the work that lies before us if we are to achieve our aim of creating a job-ready generation.
More Media Releases from Jeremy Rockliff
More Media Releases from the Minister for Education and Training