New NSW Curriculum Goes ‘Back to Basics’

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian addresses the media during a press conference to update on COVID-19, at NSW Parliament House on March 17, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. (Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

The NSW government plans to take a back to basics approach under a new schools curriculum due to come into effect by 2024.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian will on June 23 announce the government’s response to a review of the state’s education system led by Professor Geoff Masters.

“The NSW government will be taking a back to basics approach to the curriculum. Literacy and numeracy will remain the focus throughout a student’s school experience,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Masters’ review had recommended the removal of excess subjects like ‘Lifestyle Studies’ and ’Puppetry' and a streamlining of crowded syllabuses.

“For 30 years, unnecessary lessons have snuck into the curriculum,” Berejiklian told The Daily Telegraph.

“Lessons in circus skills, puppetry and wearable art should not be done during school hours.”

Sydney