Are you aware that under the ACARA system, technology education will be cut from 200 hours to 80 hours? There will also be little if any emphasis on practical skills. What do we do with the millions of dollars worth of school workshops across Australia? ACARA are saying that this will not happen until phase 3 so don't worry about it. Once phase 1 is implemented with increased hours in English, History and Maths, the hours will need to taken from somewhere or the school day will need to be extended. This will result in a 60% reduction in Technology education hours, leaving thousands of highly skilled technology teachers across Australia without a job. When Bonds sacked their workers, there was uproar. They are a private entity and not answerable to the Australian people. The reason nobody knows about this is that ACARA is keeping a lid on it and the Board of Studies has been gagged up until now. They cannot speak about the Technology curriculum because it does not exist! ICT Technology has been integrated into other courses to be taught by teachers who are unskilled in the area. It is fine for a student to be able to use Facebook and call that ICT education but who will actually fix the network when it breaks in the future? A kid who knows how to use Facebook or one that had an interest in computing, studied it at school then went on to university to gain a degree in how to fix the network. The universities may also be unaware of the impact of this on their technology degree intakes. I know of students who are studying to be technology teachers as we speak. They will not have the opportunity for employment, even after they pay their $25000 in tuition. Parents would be shocked to hear that there will be no practical subjects available in schools for their children. For some kids, their practical subjects are the only reason they get out of bed in the morning. Take that away and school becomes very difficult for many. Smart kids who seek a break from the monotony of theory based courses will not have the option to do something fun without leaving school and going to a trade school. This information is not available on the ACARA website and the process is being rolled out with minimal consultation and as hush hush as possible. Please sign this petition so we can put an end to the rubbish that is the National Curriculum.