[Greens-Media] Education policy fails kids

[Manderson, Roland]

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ACT GREENS MLA DEB FOSKEY MEDIA RELEASE
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4 Feb 08

Education policy fails kids

ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey has said the ACT Government's education policy
is failing too many Canberra students.

"I congratulate ACT teachers for their efforts towards achieving
excellent achievements for many Canberra students" Dr Foskey said today.

"However, the Greens are concerned about the alarming and growing gap
between the achievements of students from high and low income families,
as the Productivity Commission's latest report has made clear."

"The ACT Government has known about the need for active intervention to
reduce this gap for many years. The Connors Inquiry into ACT school
funding initiated by the Stanhope Government when it first won
Government in 2001 highlighted the issue."

"Recent PISA (Participation in International Studies of Student
Achievement) analysis found that while education across Australia is
generally both high achievement and high equity, in the ACT and Tasmania
it is low equity."

"This is not acceptable in a city like ACT which prides itself on an
excellent public education system."

"Once again I am asking the ACT Government what it is doing to increase
the equity in our schools, and pay particular regard to the needs of
students from low income families."

"I have as yet been given no evidence that the needs of children at risk
or low achieving students were taken into account when schools were
selected for closure or defined as early childhood schools in 2006"

"As the Greens said then, there is no evidence that creating super
schools at the expense of small schools with strong community
relationships will address the problem" Dr Foskey said.

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Media Contact: Roland Manderson 0412241379 or 620 50551 
  
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