State school principal appointments have been opened to external applicants enabling principals and senior teachers from the Catholic sector, interstate and overseas to apply. In his 13 years as principal of McKinnon Secondary College, Alan Lawrence has steered his school through the tumultuous era of change in state education. The Education Minister, Mr Phil Gude, has foreshadowed a review of the foreign languages teaching program in government schools amid claims it is failing through lack of resources. Plus What schools charge My years of change When Bill Hunt, principal of Ivanhoe Primary School, left Sale to start his teacher training in the mid-1960s, state school principals' positions were highly sought after. Key changes to VCE, including greater external assessment.
Task force starts assessing condition of all school buildings.
Schools of the Future task force appointed. Second round of about 500 teacher redundancies announced. Selection of 322 Schools of the Future. Audit Commission recommends further axing of 6100 teachers. Further 159 school closures.