At the heart of accusations of a crowded curriculum are concerns key areas — such as literacy and numeracy — will be compromised by an insidious creep towards content such as gender issues.
The most important changes in Scott Morrison’s limited reshuffle are centred on two vital and controversial issues that will severely test the government in coming months.
The Education Minister Dan Tehan has said research shows mobile phone bans have a positive effect on academic performance. But this is not necessarily true.
Demand is high for teachers with expertise in STEM subjects like maths. But students also deserve expert English, history, civics or geography teachers. Maybe your favourite teacher did an arts degree.
The Nationals are demanding major changes to the government’s controversial planned new regime of higher education fees, declaring they would disadvantage regional communities and students.
Universities have financial resources — property, bequests and philanthropic funds, and access to lines of credit — they can access rather than forcing staff to sacrifice their jobs.
The education minister has outlined reforms to higher education funding aimed at producing ‘job ready graduates’. But his announcements don’t seem completely in line with the data.
The government’s emergency relief package for childcare centres has kept many from collapsing financially due to COVID-19. The transition to other arrangements must be slow and carefully managed.
Scott Morrison was on the ball – and quickly on the phone. Hardly had education minister Dan Tehan finished giving Victorian premier Daniel Andrews a bollocking on the ABC’s Insiders than he received a…
What to do about the schools is set to return centre stage when the national cabinet later this week discusses the next steps in managing the coronavirus – specifically, the first stages of the way to “the other side”.