Education Reforms
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 16:27
Hansard Wednesday, 10 February 2010
EDUCATION REFORMS
Dr FLEGG (Moggill—LNP) (11.39 am): The LNP has called on the government to start serious consultation in relation to a national curriculum. After that call went out the government released a green paper. However, anyone who reads that green paper should not be misled. The issue around the movement of year 7 into high school is a fait accompli. The government has already decided. It is not asking for people’s opinions on it. In this green paper the government ignores many of the serious issues. It is already far later than it should be to be discussing these issues, which will mean increasing the numbers in our already bursting-at-the-seams high schools across the state by 20 per cent. The paper gives no solutions as to how that will be achieved or where the new high schools will be built.There has been no discussion about whether the primary teachers who will be made redundant when the government makes this move will be used to reduce class sizes, will be retrained as secondary teachers or will simply be pushed out like we have seen teachers pushed out in this state before. There is no policy in relation to the kids, who will still be younger than their interstate counterparts, who are not ready to go to high school and how that will be dealt with.
Perhaps the largest hole of all is: where is the money for the schools to fund the vast increase in secondary teachers that will be required to increase student numbers by 20 per cent? The $300 million talked about for new schools is a drop in the ocean. That will go nowhere near even a fraction of what is required. This is a massive, unfunded black hole in education. It is all very nice and good to talk about what the government wants to do, but to expand high schools by 20 per cent in this way and have the teachers and adequate resources is going to create a funding black hole.
(Time expired)