Premier losing credibility on education stats

The attendance rate of students in the post Year 10 system is now a major test of the Premier’s credibility – a test he appears to have flunked.

Last week, Mr Bartlett told the Tasmanian Parliament that:

“I can also report that both the CEO of the Polytechnic and the CEO of the Tasmanian Academy reported to me just yesterday that there is a 95 per cent-plus retention rate into third term.”

But today, there’s been an admission from the Polytechnic CEO that they simply don’t know how many students are currently attending. Concerns that some 10,000 students have simply gone missing just reinforce what a mess this arrogant Premier has made.

This is all consistent with the feedback the Liberals have been receiving from teachers – that the system is a mess, students are dropping out like flies, but the IT systems are such that even students who haven’t been seen at school all year are still listed as attending.

The post Year 10 reforms were supposed to be all about improving retention. If that is so, how could the Premier not ensure that systems were put in place to actually monitor whether retention was being improved?

Why would he try to silence his critics by trumpeting a 95% retention rate when there’s no evidence to back it up? Has he misled the Parliament in the process?

We need an urgent, independent audit of attendance figures now so that we can actually see what impact these changes are having on retention and attendance. If the Premier refuses, then it strengthens my suspicion that he may be trying to cover up the poor results of his reforms because he’s more concerned about his short-term political interests than the long-term interests of Tasmanian students.
Will Hodgman MP Leader of the State Opposition