Many thousands of Canberra’s secondary college graduates might not be aware that the excellent education they received is no longer available to current and future students, as a result of the 2006 staffing cuts of 60 teachers in secondary schools imposed by the Labor government currently seeking re-election.
Most college teachers now take five academic classes, an increase from four. This means that there is far less time for lesson preparation, at the same time as the assessment task has increased. Unlike in larger states to which the government is fond of referring, there is virtually no central system curriculum support for teachers on the ground, they have to do it all themselves. For the students, the cuts mean that their teachers are virtually unavailable for individual help outside class hours, and their opportunities to take sport and other non-academic classes have dramatically diminished. Similarly, students are far more restricted in their choice of courses, timetable and teacher.
Our secondary college system is no longer the pride of Canberra and the envy of the nation. Those elements which made for the definitive college experience such as innovative curriculum, student choice, and individual learning have been vandalised again by the current government. Teachers in both colleges and high schools are still endeavouring to provide an excellent education for their students, but they are heavily handicapped. Claims by the ACT to run the best education system in the country sound like a script from the spinmeisters of “The Hollowmen.”
Current and future parents should ensure that politicians committed to restoring adequate staffing to secondary schools are elected. Currently only the Greens have made such a commitment. The Liberals have promised to restore 35 positions in high schools, but mysteriously have ignored the plight of colleges; previous Liberal governments made cuts which have contributed to the present problems. Labor politicians continue to boast about the “tough decisions” of 2006, seemingly oblivious of the damage they have caused. However, voters will be aware that millions plundered from secondary schools have since been squandered on a variety of frivolous projects and election sweeteners.
As a secondary teacher in Canberra for over thirty years, I hope some of my former students read this letter, and think about voting against those sitting MLAs most responsible for harming our schools, and replace them with people who will keep faith with Canberra’s high educational aspirations.
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