THE controversial Tasmania Tomorrow reforms had failed, Education Minister Lin Thorp told teachers at meetings last week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ms Thorp used the meetings around the state to put forward an about-face that included dismantling the Polytechnic, Academy and Skills Institute boards and abolishing shared services, teachers who attended said.
The meetings came after last week's resignation by Tasmanian Polytechnic chairman Michael Vertigan.
Ms Thorp told teachers that Tasmania Tomorrow damage included a narrowing of student choice and a loss of college culture.
It is believed the State Government will keep the multimillion-dollar Tasmania Tomorrow brand and sell its reversal as a refined model.
The new Education Minister's recognition of the failure represents a major Government backdown after Premier and former education minister David Bartlett pushed Tasmania Tomorrow for two years despite calls to consult more and slow the implementation.
Major industrial action by the Australian Education Union included stopwork meetings attended by hundreds of teachers last year. A strike was cancelled just before the March election.
One teacher who attended the meeting said the new model would closely resemble the old college structure with stronger emphasis on VET programs.
Mr Bartlett announced Tasmania Tomorrow early in 2007. The plan abolished Tasmania's college system and TAFE Tasmania and established polytechnics, academies and skills institutes.
In late December 2008, the Education and Training Act created the new entities "to maximise the qualifications and skills of Tasmanians through education and training undertaken after the completion of year 10".
However, Ms Thorp told the meetings that work on post- grade 10 retention and improved education outcomes had to start earlier.
She told teachers that no amount of course choice could compete with the family and social pressures that kept young people from learning.
Ms Thorp used last week's invitation-only meetings to canvass staff views about the impact of the reforms.
She also presented a 10-point list of ideas to resolve the situation, which included abolishing boards, moving all post- year 10 studies and teachers back to the Education Department and letting colleges keep their financial independence.
Ms Thorp agreed with teachers that student choices had been narrowed by the reforms and the implementation had been divisive.
The abolition of the boards would leave uncertain the future of Polytechnic chief Belinda McLennan, Academy and Skills Institute boards and board members, including Dr James Cretan and Skills Institute chief Malcolm White.
The Liberal Opposition and Tasmanian Greens campaigned during the election on dismantling Tasmania Tomorrow.