$9.5 billion education and training budget this year has been detailed-out by the Bligh Government. This is a massive investment that implies more kindergartens, sooner, and extra teachers and teacher's aides on the education frontline. Education and Training Minister Geoff Wilson mentioned the investment amounted to almost a quarter of the entire State Budget.
In February this year the Government released the Flying Start Green Paper to prepare the Queensland (Australia) education system for the future. Wilson mentioned that the budget has been designed to support delivery of many proposals including commitment to fund up to 240 extra kindergarten services. Key investment initiatives include $25.8 million will be allocated to the Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan in 2010-11 to build the reading, writing and numeracy skills of students, particularly in the primary school years; $19 .5 million will be provided under the second year of the $43.5 million three-year Science Spark program to improve science teaching; $14.1 million for an additional 5,000 teacher aide hours per week under the second year of the Government's $43 million three-year commitment to an additional 15,000 hours a week of teacher aide time in primary schools.
