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The idea of education for all has a long
and proud history in Australia and it’s why
the Turnbull Government has commit-
ted a record levels of funding for schools
that will only continue to grow. Unfortu-
nately while funding has been increas-
ing, our students’ performance in several
local and international tests and bench-
marks that came out last year, showed
there was some stagnation and even de-
cline in results.
Australia has schools filled with in-
credible educators, but those results
worry policymakers like me, not to men-
tion the families and parents across the
country.
So while it’s clear a strong level of fund-
ing is needed for our schools, and the
OECD recognises we have that in Aus-
tralia, we also need to focus on how that
funding is used. Funding alone doesn’t
guarantee great schools where students
can achieve their full potential.
That means ensuring our record and
growing levels of investment are proper-
ly distributed according to need, but the
Turnbull Government also wants to tie
that money to states and territories im-
plementing reforms that evidence shows
will boost student outcomes.
Ultimately those reforms are about cre-
ating a smarter Australia. That means
students who have the skills they need
to succeed, but also students who one
day will be industry leaders, business
moguls, world changers and thought
makers.
To that end, our Quality Schools, Qual-
ity Outcomes reforms build on an exten-
sive amount of work we’ve done over the
last three years in improving the training
of new teachers, our de-cluttering of the
National Curriculum and investment in
modern skills like coding through the Na-
tional Innovation and Science Agenda.
We are working to implement a range
of evidence-based initiatives to support
students by focusing on outcomes in liter-
acy, numeracy and STEM subjects, help-
ing lift teacher quality and better prepar-
ing our children for life after school. You
can read more about those initiatives at
www.education.gov.auPathways to success
Our secondary students need to devel-
op the right skills to fill the jobs of the fu-
ture.
Vocational education and training (VET)
is set apart from other types of educa-
tion by its close links with industry and
its direct employment outcomes. Indeed,
students can be confident that the skills
they’re developing will prepare them for
not only the jobs of today but also those
of the future.
The work-relevance and flexibility of
VET courses appeals to a broad range of
Australia’s population. In 2015 alone, 4.5
million, or around one in four, adults were
in the training system. This included sec-
ondary students in pre-apprenticeships,
young adults combining work with part-
time study, and mature students seeking