Fed: Labor up in arms over literacy vouchers program

AAP General News (Australia)
02-13-2006
Fed: Labor up in arms over literacy vouchers program

(EDS: Embargoed until 0001 Monday Feb 13)



CANBERRA, Feb 13 AAP - Labor will step up its attack on new Education Minister Julie
Bishop this week over administration of the federal government's literacy vouchers program.

The Howard government promised $700 vouchers to all students who failed the Year 3
Literacy Benchmark test in 2003.

But figures from the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) show just
656 of the 5,717 eligible Victorian students received any help through the tutorial vouchers
program.

Opposition education spokeswoman Jenny Macklin today said Ms Bishop must immediately
step in to fix the literacy vouchers program after just 12 per cent of eligible students
in Victoria received help.

"After promising $700 vouchers to all students who failed the Year 3 Literacy Benchmark
test in 2003 the Howard government has failed to deliver on that promise to the vast majority
of students," Ms Macklin said.

"It is up to the new minister to fix up this mistake and ensure these students get
the help they need and deserve."

Federal Labor would continue pursuing this issue through the Senate Estimates process
this week as the apparent failure of the program meant the same students had since sat
the Year 5 Literacy Benchmark test without any tutoring.

"It's hard to imagine a less effective way of delivering tutorial support to students
with literacy problems than the Howard government's literacy vouchers," Ms Macklin said.

She agreed with Victorian Principals' Associations Fred Ackerman, who has said the
money would have been better spent on reading schemes through schools.

Ms Macklin also said the $250 fee charged by a private company to administer the program
had further penalised students as they saw just $450 of their $700 vouchers.

AAP db/jt/sd

KEYWORD: VOUCHERS EMBARGOED

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