Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the sensational member for Newcastle for her question. I announced a few weeks ago that 10 schools in her electorate would get funding from round 1 of the Schools Upgrade Fund, amongst 1,300 schools right across the country that will get funding for everything from iPads and laptops to air-conditioners to outdoor learning areas. And that's just the start. There's more to come. I can advise members that round 2 will open later this year.

There's also funding in the budget to help to encourage more young people to become teachers and to keep the fantastic teachers that we've got. That includes university scholarships worth up to $40,000, to encourage our best and brightest young people to leap out of school and want to be a teacher rather than a banker, or a lawyer, or—God forbid!—a politician. Applications for those open later this year as well.

We've also got to do a better job of preparing teaching students to become teachers. Ask most teachers and they'll tell you they never really felt prepared when they left university; that prac wasn't up to scratch; that the practical experience they got when they were a student wasn't really enough; and that university didn't give them everything they needed to teach children to read or write or to manage a disruptive classroom. Fixing that is important. I think I've told the House before that up to 50 per cent of teachers quit in the first five years. And what's happening at university is a big part of that.

So, when education ministers meet in the next few weeks, we'll look at the reforms that we need to make to fix teacher training. We'll also look at two other things that cause problems in our schools. And, if you're a parent of a school-aged child, then I suspect you'll know what I'm talking about: mobile phones and vaping.

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