• Ben Jensen

Image: -AroFarMeR- / flickr

25 March 2011Reform is needed to improve Asian literacy in schools, writes Ben Jensen in The Australian.

We are failing to properly educate our children to succeed in a world led by Asian countries.

There is little doubt Australia's future economic prosperity depends on our ability to embed ourselves in Asia's continued economic growth. However, our education system fails to prepare our students to succeed in this new world.

Substantial reform is needed to rectify the falling performance of Australia's school students relative to their Asian peers. Our students now perform at a level significantly below students in a number of our neighbouring Asian countries.

Unfortunately, we are also failing to provide children with the knowledge and skills in Asian languages and studies they need to have successful lives.

The present state of Asian language education in Australian schools is poor. Asian language education in Australia is typified by too few teachers, teaching in what are often inadequate programs to a small percentage of students. This means that by the final year of secondary school, only 6 per cent of students study an Asian language. Many of these are from Asian backgrounds. Only 300 students in Australia who are learning Chinese in their final year of secondary school do not have a Chinese background. Korea is our fourth-largest trading partner but Korean is taught in fewer than 50 schools across Australia. Not a single student in this country learning Korean in their final year of secondary school is from a non-Korean background.

And yet we constantly hear that Australia's economic future rests on being a part of continued Asian economic growth. Our children will need to effectively communicate with our Asian neighbours. They need to be able to work and socialise in a world led by Asian countries.

The children who start school this year will be in the middle of their careers in about 2050. We need to equip our children with the skills and knowledge required in 2050. Not the skills required today. What will the world look like in 2050? There is little doubt the broader Asian economy will be the largest in the world. By 2050, China and India are forecast to be the world's largest economies. Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea will be among the top 20, surpassing Australia which is forecast to fall out of the top 20.

This will have a huge effect on our children's lives. Their careers and workplaces will be increasingly focused on the Asian countries that will be leading the world.

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Image: -AroFarMeR- / flickr