The Year 11 – 12 initiative
The increase in year 11 enrolments Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff is so proud of is 37 students from the six participating schools.
At this rate, at most, there might be an extra 150 additional students from the 21 schools enrolled after the first four years of this post-year 10 initiative.
This is because all of the remaining 15 schools that will be involved in the future will have fewer enrolments than Huonville, St Helens or Smithton.
Many of the 37 students might have chosen to go to a college if the program did not exist so even this figure is a gross over-estimate of the increased number who may eventually receive a TCE.
Our government has committed $45 million or $300,000 per student ($45,000,000 / 150 = $300,000 ) using these figures and Mr Rockliff is ecstatic.
To pay for this, 266 full-time equivalent teachers from the compulsory primary and secondary sectors of schooling were shed.
It equates to a 5% reduction to the staffing levels of schools for 2014.
The premier has said his goal is to have 2000 additional students receiving a TCE each year within the next 10 years.
It is all very well to have a vision, but not if younger students are to be denied their educational opportunities in order to pay for it.
