Commercial Education Society of Australia

Summary of the President's Speech

Annual General Meeting for 2006

held on 30 March 2007

The Society is now in its ninety-seventh year. Its longevity is due in large measure to an unshakeable belief among our members in the worth of what we are doing. It is due also to relationships—among members; and with schools, colleges and their students.

A Brief History of the Society

Each year at this time I find myself speaking to a largely new audience and being asked questions about the Society and its governance.

In 1910 most business training was delivered by private colleges. Each college conducted its own exams and issued its own qualifications. Some colleges wanted a stronger guarantee of integrity. It seemed to them that the best way to achieve that was by sending the exam papers overseas.

In 1910 the only external organisations conducting independent tests in commercial subjects were in the United Kingdom. Exam papers had to be sent from Australia to England, and the results sent back to Australia. There was no air mail. Everything had to go by sea. It took months to get results.

So a group of college principals decided to form a local examining body that would be independent of all colleges.

That was our foundation.

Over the years we have examined thousands of students. We are well known, and we are trusted. Almost all of our administration is voluntary. We are lucky to have so many leading professional teachers willing to help.

We are now examining widely overseas, especially in the South Pacific.

CESA Respected and Honoured

The Governor-General, Sir Michael Jeffrey, honours us with his patronage, as has every other Governor-General for the past 44 years. We have also been given a Grant-in-Arms by the College of Heralds in the United Kingdom.

Student of the Year

Once a year we make awards to outstanding students Our award for Student of the Year is the Thomas Cooper Medal, which is given for excellence in three subject areas. The winner in 2006 was Steven Arifin of Bedford Business College, Sydney. Bedford is a college noted for the quality of its training and the character of its students.

Importance of Communication

This year we are putting the spotlight on Communication. It is good to remind all employees in the business world that they must be able to write plain English. They must speak well. When they have those skills they become a valued part of the employer's showcase.

The top award for Business Communication is the Elizabeth Murphy Medal. The award is named in honour a distinguished lecturer, writer and editor who is the Immediate past President of the Society. This year the medal has been awarded to Ramika Arzoo Lal of Keshal's House of Computer Literacy in Fiji.

A National Curriculum for Schools

The Australian Government wants a national curriculum in our schools. There is concern about different standards in a number of subjects between States in our Federation, and particularly about a decline in literacy. There is also lively discussion once again about the need to teach phonics as opposed solely to whole language.

Our Society will support any proposal to encourage young people—and some older people too—to read more, and not be corrupted by such things as the language of text messages. Indeed we should be thinking about current attitudes to teaching the science of language, namely grammar.

Problems with the National Business Training Package

If there is to be a national curriculum, one hopes that the pitfalls encountered in the Business services Training Package will be avoided. Careful planning and wide consultation are needed. I mention, but make no other comment on the inconsistent and often unsatisfactory methods of assessing competency in that Package.

Keeping CESA's Syllabus up to Date

However, changing a syllabus to meet new needs is a good thing. CESA has made many changes to its syllabuses, and continues to do so.

Level 5 Research Project for Teachers

For example, we have upgraded our qualification for teachers from Certificate level to Diploma level. Recently we identified a need to correlate Level 4 skills for teachers with a Level 5 Research project to meet the technical component of the new Training and Assessment Package.

Joan Fielding OAM, BEd, DipTeach, FRSA, TDipT, TDipPS, FCES

President