National Catholic Education executive director Jacinta Collins says it’s time for “fringe commentators and the Australian Education Union to stop the distorted reporting on school funding” and for “all sectors to realise the full Gonski commitment to Australian education”.
On Friday, the AEU released the report Ending the Capital Funding Divide in Australia’s Schools. The AEU commissioned the report as it mounts a campaign to force the Commonwealth to contribute more to public schools.
“Since 2011, we’ve had Gonski, Gonski 2.0, Gonski 2+ (repairing an excessive impost on non-government school families) and numerous reviews and inquiries on education,” Ms Collins said.
“Gonski provided a comprehensive plan to address recurrent funding for all schools through the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS), as well as recommendations for capital funding to equip schools with infrastructure to accommodate 21st century learning and teaching.
“It also made recommendations to boost philanthropic support for schools, and a critical, but long-neglected, plan to address school improvement and student learning performance.
“Under the cover of reasonable calls to bring public schools up to 100% of the SRS, fringe commentators, like Save our Schools and Pasi Sahlberg, along with the AEU, are arguing for the end of school choice in this country,” Ms Collins said.
“This is despite a 200 year-long Australian tradition, increasing demand from families, decades of commitment by both major political parties, and a strong track record of delivering social infrastructure including the most bang for buck in the delivery of taxpayer dollars during the Global Financial Crisis.
Ms Collins questioned if the “so-called ‘funding wars’ really about funding or are they fuelled by an ideological fervour to rid Australian families of choice, pluralism and freedom?”.
“Gonski was about fair funding and educational excellence for all students, not at the expense of one sector over another.”
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Stop distorting the facts, it’s time for the full Gonski says Catholic education chief (NCEC)
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