Josh Willie MLC, Shadow Minister for Education and Early Years, 13 February 2024
Tasmanian education outcomes make for sobering reading
After 10 years of a Liberal government, Tasmania’s education outcomes are at the bottom of the national class and there are no signs of improvement ahead while Jeremy Rockliff remains in charge.
A new report has shown Tasmania has the lowest portion of students proficient in reading of any state in Australia, behind only the Northern Territory.
The Reading Guarantee report by the Grattan Institute shows just 62 per cent of Tasmanians were at a proficient level in 2023.
The figures follow the Productivity Commission’s findings last week that Tasmania’s year 12 attainment rate has gone backwards, sitting at a shocking 53.1 per cent – more than 20 per cent behind the national average.
The Liberals will no doubt revert to their default excuse of blaming anyone but themselves for not making improvements.
The reality is they haven’t invested enough into evidence-based teaching practices during their 10 years in government and they haven’t resourced catch-up learning, which means they have failed to meet their own benchmarks.
It’s time we had a government which prioritised the education of our children so we can turn around these results and build a better future for all Tasmanians.
