Released 01/02/2019
- Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Yvette Berry (Media contact: Megan Cursley)
- Minister for Vocational Education and Skills, Meegan Fitzharris (Media contact: Claire Johnston)
Today’s new chapters from the 2019 Report on Government Services show 93 per cent of the ACT’s year 12 graduates from 2017, and 97.9 per cent of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander vocational education and training graduates, went on to employment, further study, or a combination of the two.
“The ACT Government believes every child deserves a great education and the life chances which flow from it. The government is committed to providing equitable and high quality outcomes for each ACT child and young person. The government is working to achieve very best future for all ACT’s children,” Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development Yvette Berry said.
“The education services the ACT Government provides from early childhood through school and vocational education and training benefit not only Canberrans but many people in the broader region.”
Early childhood education and care
“Today’s report shows the ACT had the highest percentage of children age 0 to 5 years attending an Australian Government-approved child care service of any state or territory in 2018,” Minister Berry said.
“The ACT Government is also leading Australia in working towards providing 15 hours per week, 600 hours per year of free, universal quality early childhood education for three year old children, beginning with those children most in need.
“The early years of a child’s life sets the foundation for social, physical, emotional and cognitive development and the government takes the importance of high quality education in this period very serious.
“We are also investing in our early childhood education and care workforce, sponsoring up to 700 students each year to complete Certificate III or Diploma courses in Early Childhood Education and Care.”
A growing proportion of ACT early childhood education and care services are exceeding the National Quality Standard, at 45 per cent in 2018, up three per cent on the year before, and higher than the national result of 33 per cent.
School education
“The ACT consistently has the strongest participation of 15 to 19-year-olds in full time education, leading the nation every year since the measure was first reported in 2008,” Minister Berry said.
“It’s great to see 93 per cent of ACT year 12 graduates from 2017 were employed or doing further study in 2018, which is a great indicator of the excellence of ACT schools.
“The ACT’s public schools are growing, with enrolments up 3.9 per cent between 2016 and 2017, as more parents choose for their children the great education these schools provide.
“The ACT was the first Australian state or territory providing universal access to laptops, the textbooks of today, in public secondary schools and our government will continue rolling these out to new students in years seven to 12 in 2019.”
In 2017 the ACT had the nation’s highest proportion of year six students attaining the proficient standard in ICT Literacy.
“The Future of Education Strategy released last year maintains a focus on literacy and numeracy as the gateway to a much broader range of skills and capabilities,” Minister Berry said.
“Schools are places that bring people together, and the ACT Government sees investment in schools is an investment in stronger local communities.”
Vocational education and training
The ACT has a strong vocational education and training sector, with public provider the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) offering an extensive range of courses, delivery styles, assessment methods, locations and services to support approximately 20,000 students each year.
“Today’s report confirms it’s now five years running that the ACT has had the highest proportion of government-funded vocational education and training students in courses at diploma level or above,” said Minister for Vocational Education and Skills Meegan Fitzharris
“More of the ACT’s vocational education and training students take on higher level courses than anywhere else in Australia.
“At 97.7 per cent, the ACT also had the nation’s highest proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students employed and/or undertaking further study after completing a course.
“It is also encouraging that the ACT has the highest proportion of vocational education and training students who report having a disability at 11.2 per cent, with support for students with disability being a key focus at CIT.”
The ACT Government provides funding to vocational education and training providers in the ACT through our Australian Apprenticeships and Skilled Capital initiatives.
NOTE: 2018 NAPLAN data is not yet available so there is no update to this data in the 2019 Report on Government Services.
- Statement ends -
Yvette Berry, MLA | Meegan Fitzharris, MLA | Media Releases
Media Contacts
| Name | Phone | Mobile | |
|---|---|---|---|
Claire Johnston |
(02) 6205 0022 |
0452 597 459 |