Roger Jaensch,Acting Minister for Education and Training
Labor’s fear campaign about increasing violence in Tasmanian state schools is irresponsible and inaccurate, proving the only thing they are focused on is petty political point scoring.
For the record, suspensions relating to bullying and physical harassment of students in Tasmanian state schools have more than halved over the past four years, from 282 to 116, while the physical abuse of teachers has decreased since 2018, from 169 to 164.
The percentage of enrolled students who have been suspended has also decreased since 2018 across the majority of year levels. Where there has been a slight increase, it is less than one per cent and we are looking closely at any reasons why.
Violence or harassment of any kind is not tolerated in our schools and the Government is committed to providing safe and supportive learning environments for all students and staff.
Schools will continue to work with their students and community to ensure respectful relationships are maintained and strengthened.
