Expulsions were the buzz word of the day for the ACT education sector, The Canberra Times reported on this day in 1991. The Minister for Education, Gary Humphries, expressed his belief that ACT principals should possess the authority to expel students.
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He suggested that if a student was expelled from one school, other public schools should have had the discretion to reject them. However, arrangements had to be made to ensure these students were accommodated elsewhere.
At that time, while principals could suspend students, the power to expel rested solely with the Secretary for Education, Eric Willmot. Humphries had opined that principals should at least have had the ability to threaten expulsion, even if they didn't always exercise it.
Humphries' stance had come off the back of news that New South Wales planned to grant similar expulsion authority.
Rosemary Richards, the president of the ACT Teachers Federation, criticized the proposal as impractical. She argued against expelling students from individual schools when they could simply enroll elsewhere.
Richards emphasized the need for adequate support programs to assist these students instead.
Humphries reassured that any policy change would ensure that no child was left without a school placement. He stressed the importance of the education system providing a stable educational environment for every child.
At that time, a student expelled from an ACT public school was barred from the entire public system, though alternative placements could sometimes be arranged.
