Middle School Backdown

The Education Minister Syd Stirling is preparing to back down on his plans to turn our education system upside down next year. Sustained public pressure has caused this rethink. Unable to bring himself to admit he has got it wrong the Minister is attempting to save face by saying that the budgetary process is the reason for the slow down.

"Balderdash.” Shadow Education Minister Terry Mills said today.

"If the Education Minister consulted with Treasurer he would've been informed that the budgetary process was proceeding as it has every year for years. The Treasurer has known what this budget would look like months ago. To blame the budget for the slowdown is merely a smoke screen."

"Nevertheless, I welcome the indication of the slow down as good news and it reinforces what the CLP have been maintaining throughout this exercise. It has been very frustrating watching the Minister continually stonewalling the public on this and even a few days ago he was still indicating an attitude of full steam ahead."

"When you consider that the Education Minister and the Treasurer share the same name it makes it hard to swallow that budgetary processes are the cause of the slow down."

"The Minister must have realised in Parliament last month how silly he was beginning to sound where in one breath he said that he had overwhelming community support and in the next breath admitted that he couldn't go to public meetings because he'd become a target."

"Territorians have been vocal about this issue and if the hundreds of letters Leader of the Opposition has received in support of slowing the process down then I can only imagine the pressure the Minister has been under."

"The delay will also allow for the real issues in Middle Schooling to be addressed and they are curriculum and professional development. Remember that there is a vast difference between a middle years approach and creating middle schools."

"This government's ham-fisted approach has the focus in the wrong place. Talking about where kids will go to school rather than what they will do when they get can never produce the academic gains we hope for.”

2006-04-11