Mark Speakman
NSW Leader of the Opposition
Sarah Mitchell
Shadow Minister for Education
The latest NAPLAN results have revealed student outcomes in NSW are stagnating, with no significant improvement under Labor's watch.
Despite the Minns Government's claims of record investment, foundational skills including reading, writing and maths are going backwards, with one in three students failing to meet the baseline standard.
Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said proper support is needed for teachers and kids in the classroom.
"What we've seen under Labor is a Government that has stripped resources from schools and slashed budgets, which is why we are seeing these results today," Mr Speakman said.
"The Premier and the Education Minister are always quick to claim things are improving when it comes to teacher vacancies, but student results are going in the wrong direction and that should be the real test."
Shadow Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the Government has cut crucial resources and support over the past two years and it needs a new plan to lift student outcomes.
"Under the former Coalition Government, we invested more than $950m in small group tuition to help students catch up, but that was cut down to just $80m this year, which shows this Government just isn't investing in things we know make a real difference," Mrs Mitchell said.
"We're not seeing the improvements we should be seeing in our classrooms, and when you've got a third of students falling behind something is seriously going wrong.
"Without a plan to lift outcomes, Labor is failing the kids who need help the most and that should be extremely concerning for every parent and student in NSW."
