The Hodgman Liberal Government has a long term Plan for Education, to create a job ready generation and break the cycle of disadvantage in this State with an unprecedented number of evidence-based improvements across every level of education in Tasmania.
The new Education Act includes 13 years of compulsory education, and an expectation that students stay at school until they have completed year 12 or its equivalent or until they have turned 18 – whichever comes first.
We are committed to providing the opportunity of universal access to quality early learning through voluntary access six months early to Prep and Kindergarten – subject to the implementation plan passing the Parliament.
We have extended 30 of our schools to year 12, and we have eight more preparing to extend next year. That’s 38 schools in four years – well ahead of our target of 21. We have 25 additional literacy and numeracy specialist teachers in our schools, and we have school nurses back in our schools.
We have reviewed education for students with a disability and now we are implementing those recommendations, including an additional $12 million dollar investment. We are getting on with the job of upgrading our education infrastructure, with our $110 million investment in education infrastructure the biggest investment in school infrastructure in this state in over 20 years.
This is why we are seeing excellent improvements in educational outcomes, with a 57 per cent increase in enrolments in the first 12 schools to extend, higher retention rates (at 73.4 per cent, significantly better than under Labor and the Greens when they were the lowest of any State), outstanding results from our year 6 students in the National Assessment – Science Literacy results, and improvements in the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) results.
These results are backed up by our 2016 NAPLAN results, which show students have narrowed the gap towards our goal of being at or above national average within the first six years of Government.
We are investing more in our schools than ever before in education. For the first time this financial year, Tasmania’s education budget has eclipsed six billion dollars over the forward estimates- the third record investment in a row under the Hodgman Government. We have also funded our share of the full six years of Gonski funding - $134 million.
Sadly when it comes to alternatives, Labor has no plan for education, no policies and no vision. In fact, they want to close schools and roll back extension schools, and take away the opportunities these changes have offered our students.
More Media Releases from Members
More Media Releases from the Minister for Education and Training