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Information statement7th MCEETYA meetingDarwin, 12 June 1997
Related filesState, Territory, Commonwealth and New Zealand Ministers with responsibility for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, met in Darwin on 12 June 1997 for the seventh meeting of the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. The meeting was chaired by the Hon. Fred Finch, MLA, Minister for Education and Training, Northern Territory, who was the Chair of MCEETYA for the first half of 1997. Chair for the remainder of 1997 was the Hon Peter Adamson, MLA, Minister for Education and Training, Northern Territory. The main outcomes of the meeting are summarised below. New Apprenticeships in SchoolsA framework and set of principles was agreed upon as guidelines to assist State and Territory government and non-government sectors, schools and industry to progressively implement apprenticeships and traineeships in schools from 1998. The implementation of these vocational education courses in schools was seen as an important element of the pathways between school education, training and higher education. The MCEETYA Taskforce on Vocational Education and Training in Schools will review the principles and framework by June 1998 and make recommendations regarding implementation for 1999 and beyond.Ministers also agreed to establish a series of User Choice pilot programs for New Apprenticeships in Schools to commence in 1998. The objective of User Choice is to increase the responsiveness of the vocational education and training system to the needs of users through allowing clients to negotiate and exercise direct influence over training delivery options including choice of provider, content, timing, location, sequencing and mode of delivery with public funds going to the provider of choice. These pilots will be evaluated in 1998 with a view to implementation of User Choice in 1999. (NB NSW reserved its position on User Choice.) Immunisation and SchoolsTo assist in improving the immunisation rate of Australian children States and Territories agreed to support school level education campaigns aimed at parents with children in the early years of primary school; allow for the use of school facilities to support immunisation; and to cooperate with public health campaigns designed to improve the level of immunisation of children.In addition, States which do not currently require students to provide evidence of their immunisation status prior to enrolment have undertaken to support the introduction of public health legislation covering mandatory certification by State health authorities. This would allow children without immunisation to be sent home in case of epidemics. National Teacher Recruitment StrategyA Teacher Recruitment Taskforce with representatives from each State and Territory education system and the Commonwealth and chaired by South Australia, will be established to develop a national teacher recruitment strategy to encourage young people to take up teaching as a career. The strategy, which will target Year 12 students prior to their making tertiary education decisions, is aimed at addressing a predicted teacher shortfall and at attracting high calibre people to the teaching profession.National Olympic Education ProgramMinisters endorsed the development of a National Olympic Education Program to involve school education in the Sydney 2000 Olympics. The program will consist of three core elements: a communication program; a school-based activity program; and the staging of the 2000 Pacific School Games. The NSW Department of School Education (DSE) will act on behalf of MCEETYA as the immediate educational advisory body to the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) and the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) in the establishment and development of Olympic education programs, in consultation with contact persons from each State or Territory;Ministers also gave endorsement to SOCOG, in consultation with the NSW DSE and the AOC, to secure sponsor funding for the National Olympic Education Program, and establish an appropriate management structure and secretariat. Norfolk IslandCouncil agreed to the inclusion of Norfolk Island as an observer member of MCEETYA.Youth AffairsAt the Special Youth Minister's forum held as part of the meeting, it was agreed by all State and Territory and Commonwealth Ministers with portfolio responsiblities for Youth that two key national priorities the focus of work in this area.The two key priorities were:
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