THERE has been almost endless debate about the direction of Tasmania’s education system and the need to give our children the best opportunities in life.
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Part of debate must include a community-wide acceptance that completion of year 12 is a minimum requirement these days rather than an aspirational goal.
For that reason the state government’s announcement on Wednesday that it will review Tasmania’s 20-year-old Education Act has been widely applauded.
In a smart move that deflected attention from budget estimates, Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said that students would be required to stay at school until 18, effectively making year 12 mandatory.
Currently under the Guaranteeing Futures Act children cannot leave school until they are 17 which makes year 12 problematic for many wanting to leave school and access unemployment benefits.
In many regards this would bring Tasmania into line with the rest of Australia and result in about 2000 more students completing year 12.
This also effectively dovetails into the desire for more Tasmanians to complete tertiary or further education, an essential prerequisite if Tasmania is going to transform its workforce.
However, there also seems to be an overwhelming view within the community and education circles that Tasmania needs a 10-15 year education plan that is immune from election cycles and political expediency.
This appears to be recognised by Mr Rockcliff who is proposing a community-led debate on education so that there is buy-in for any changes.
Labor also appears to be on board with involving UTAS and other education institutions in plotting a unified course.
These changes will not happen overnight and the education sector is change-weary from previous administrations obsessed with an instant fix-it mentality.
And, whether we like it or not, one of those difficult conversations also needs to include school mergers.