Minister for Education Makes a Couple of Promises. (October 28, 2009)

On ABC Radio's AM yesterday the federal Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, made a couple promises when challenged by her interlocutor.

JULIA GILLARD:  ...The Government’s driving an Education Revolution which is all about improving the quality of teaching in our schools and making sure that children have the specialist teachers that they need. That’s why two Budgets ago we put in place measures to halve HECS for those who go into maths and science teaching, and then if they go into an area of need, to halve it again. And it’s why we’re investing $550 million in improving teacher quality and the quality of school leadership. ...our Education Revolution is already delivering measures to induce teachers in the maths and science fields, to get high performing maths and science graduates into teaching and beyond that, we are also implementing a measure called teach for Australia where high performing graduates from all disciplines will go into accelerated teacher education courses and start teaching in schools next year.

TONY EASTLEY: So, Minister, you’re saying [to] the primary school children who will soon be going into high school, the problems will be fixed for them?

JULIA GILLARD: I’m saying we’re delivering an Education Revolution with more than double the amount of money being invested in schools by the national government and we are using that money to drive a profound set of new reforms.

TONY EASTLEY: So if I interview you in 12 months time from today, you’ll be able to tell me that some of these problems, a lot of these problems have been alleviated and we’re around these problems of deficiencies in teacher expertise?

JULIA GILLARD: If you interview me in 12 months time, Tony, I’ll be able to go through with you each of the schools that’s got extra resources under our disadvantaged schools program where we're making a difference. I’ll be able to give you the names of our Teach for Australia graduates who are out there teaching in schools. I’ll be able to tell you about how many students have gone into maths and science teaching induced to do so by our program to halve their HECS.

Matt Golding – Sunday Age, 6 December 2007

Well, watch this space.