More Tasmanian students are enrolled in schools extended to year 12, but 90 per cent of students continue to study at colleges.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said there were now 688 students studying in the 38 high schools that have extended to Year 12 since 2014, an increase of 155 students since 2017.
“Extended high schools now account for over eight per cent of all senior secondary school enrolments, with Tasmania’s eight colleges maintaining the lion’s share of more than 90 per cent of enrolments.
“Again, this is evidence that colleges will remain a vital component of our senior secondary education system into the future.
"Our retention is up, our TCE (attainment) is up.
“It's not a one size fits all, it's really a senior secondary partnership between our colleges and high schools.
“We're seeing an increase in TCE and and increase in retention for a job ready generation of young people.”
Labor leader Rebecca White welcomed the retention rate figures but said they needed to be analysed more closely.
“We’re pleased to see students doing well but we want to see is if they are getting a quality education,” Ms White said.
“We need data on whether they are getting an ATAR score and how many are getting a qualification that will allow them to go to university.
“How many of them are going to get an apprenticeship or a job, that’s the ultimate outcome we want for our young people.”
The Australian Education Union agreed that data was needed to see if the extension to year 12 was worth it.