The Gutwein Government is continuing to fail Tasmanian students, families and teaching staff with the state's education outcomes still among the worst in the nation.
Shadow Education Minister Josh Willie said the Productivity Commission's Report on Government Services in education released today shows retention and attainment rates remain well below the national average and Tasmania continued to spend the highest amount per student in the country but for the poorest results.
"The Minister Jeremy Rockliff has made very deceptive claims about retention rates when in fact the ROGS clearly states retention across all schools is 74.3 per cent, well below the national average of 82 per cent," Mr Willie said.
"Mr Rockliff has cherry picked figures from the report making his claim based on state schools only when in fact he is the Minister for all schools.
"Retention is just one piece of the puzzle and what Mr Rockliff fails to inform the public is that barring the NT we are spending the most in the country per student for the worst outcomes.
"Attainment rates for Year 12 students by socio-economic status across all schools in Tasmania are just 58 per cent - significantly lower than the national average of 72 per cent - and that figure remains the same as 2008.
"In addition, NAPLAN figures show over the past decade Tasmania has gone backwards in half of the indicators assessed across grades 3, 5, 7 and 9.
"We all want to see our kids stay at school and get the best education, so they can have full and rewarding jobs, careers and lives. But sadly this cannot be achieved under this Liberal Government with only 54.5 per cent of school leavers fully engaged in work, further education or training.
"Labor's plan contains initiatives such as putting mental health workers in all schools and providing career education to allow students to reach their full potential and get a job."
Josh Willie MLC
Shadow Minister for Education
