Right-wing group founder added to Qld school curriculum board

3 months ago 10

The state government has reshuffled the school curriculum board, dumping union executives to instead introduce “a diverse skill set” with three new members, including the founder of a right-wing lobby group.

The Queensland Assessment and Curriculum Authority (QCAA) has seven members, including the chair, three members each representing an education sector, and three members nominated by the Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek.

The changes reverted the acting chair to a nominated member, and removed the other two nominated members – Queensland Teachers’ Union president Cresta Richardson and Independent Education Union Queensland branch secretary Terence Burke.

Queensland Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek has dismissed two members from the QCAA board.

In their place, Langbroek appointed former Rockhampton Catholic Education Diocese director of 24 years Leesa Jeffcoat AM and James Power, a hotelier based in Brisbane.

“The QCAA Board needs a diverse skill set that includes educational leadership, governance, and strong communication skills, and that’s what our changes will deliver,” he said.

“I’m confident Mr Campling, Mr Power, and Ms Jeffcoat will make invaluable contributions to the Board and provide a renewed sense of confidence in the QCAA.”

Among the other new appointees, the state introduced education consultant Mark Campling, a former regional director and assistant director-general in the Education Department, as the new QCAA chair.

Jeffcoat, the second appointed member, has years’ experience in the Catholic sector, which the state said would bring additional educational experience to the curriculum authority.

In a post made online on Thursday afternoon, Burke said he was not informed he had been removed until after it was reported.

IEU Queensland Branch director Terry Burke said he discovered he had been sacked from the QCAA board through reporting.

“This morning I learned via an article in The Australian that I had been dismissed as a member of the Board of the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment,” Burke wrote.

“I did get formal advice mid-afternoon that I was no longer a board member – but courtesy is courtesy.”

The state was continuing a review into the QCAA and its communication procedures with schools, following last month’s exam bungle, but had not yet determined a date for the final report, or timeline for the process.