Arabic version: انتقاد خطة تعليم اللغة في ACT لعدم كفاية الدعم

A parliamentary committee has deemed the ACT government’s Language Education Action Plan “not fit for purpose,” highlighting significant gaps in language education for senior students. According to ABC News, the inquiry revealed that enrolments in ATAR-level language courses had declined since the closure of a pathways program at the end of last year.

The committee accused the government of complacency regarding language learning pathways and noted that students are being denied opportunities to continue their language studies into college. Frank Keighley, an advocate for language education, expressed concern that the ACT is lagging behind other states in terms of language course completion rates.

The inquiry followed the winding up of a centralised ATAR language program, which had been operational from 2017 to 2023. The committee’s report criticized the government’s inaction after the program’s closure, indicating a failure to provide equitable language learning pathways for Year 11 and 12 students.

The report made nine recommendations, including a review of the Language Education Action Plan and the establishment of a new centralised ATAR-level language learning program at no cost to ACT public school students. Education spokesperson Elizabeth Lee described the findings as alarming and emphasized the need for immediate action to improve language education in the ACT public school system.