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Media Release
$139 MILLION BOOST FOR QUALITY TEACHING IN AUSTRALIA
8 April 2005 MIN 1078/05
Teaching quality in Australia will be significantly enhanced with today’s announcement that the Howard Government will provide an extra $139 million in the 2005-06 Budget to extend its Quality Teacher Programme (AGQTP).
This brings the Government’s funding for quality teaching programmes to almost $300 million since 2000, with $159 million already invested over the past five years.
The AGQTP is the Government’s flagship initiative for improving the quality of school teaching and school leadership in Australia. It provides funding for high quality professional development for school teachers and also funds important national initiatives such as the Boys Education Lighthouse Initiative.
More than 240,000 professional development opportunities have been taken up by teachers across Australia since the programme began.
Raising the quality, professionalism and status of teachers is the Government’s top priority in schooling. Quality teaching is the most important factor that influences the educational outcomes of our children, accounting for up to 60% of the variation in learning outcomes.
This additional funding will improve teacher access to the latest subject knowledge and classroom techniques, for the benefit of students.
The programme will help address the needs of teachers in relation to the education of boys and Indigenous students and will continue to improve teacher skills in priority areas such as literacy and numeracy.
This initiative will also provide a further four years of funding for the National Institute for Quality Teaching and School Leadership, which was established by the Howard Government in 2004. The funding will enable the Institute to continue its critically important work in developing standards for recognising high-quality teachers and school leaders, and accreditation for teacher training courses.
The Quality Teacher Programme is part of a broad suite of measures that the Australian Government is undertaking to improve teacher quality and includes an additional $110 million to support universities with the costs associated with the practical component of teaching, and the quarantining of teacher courses from any HECS increases.
Media Contacts:
Dr Nelson’s Office: Yaron Finkelstein 0414 927 663
Dept of Education, Science & Training: Tony Mithen 02 6240 7174
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