New data released by the Productivity Commission shows Tasmania continues to lag the nation on key educational outcomes. The Report on Government Services figures clearly show the Rockliff Government needs to do much more to support struggling students and the school system.
The figures show more students are leaving school early, with retention rates for secondary students at their lowest in years, and the lowest of any state.
Not only are too many students still leaving school early, but educational attainment rates have declined by 5% in a single year too, and now sit 15% below the national average. This backwards slide applies to students from all socio-economic levels, pointing to a wider issue in the school system. This is a serious situation.
While standardised testing like NAPLAN has obvious limitations, it’s nonetheless extremely concerning to see how much Tasmanian students are struggling with reading, writing, and numeracy compared to their mainland counterparts. The number of Tasmanian students who need extra support in these areas still sits above the national average.
Tasmania lags the nation on many of the school-related figures, but we also are well behind when it comes to students working towards vocational qualifications. The proportion of students completing at least one unit of a Certificate II or above is the lowest of any state, with a result of 17% compared to a national average of 26%.
These are concerning results, and it’s clear the Rockliff Government’s much-vaunted educational reforms are not having the desired effect. As the Greens have long-been saying, the most important thing this government could do is to properly invest in more teachers and support staff to ensure students get the help and education they need.
It shouldn’t take an election for our education system to get the investment it needs, but if we do head to the polls soon the Greens will be making sure the politicians from both major parties respond to this issue with genuine action.
