10/7/03
State and Territory Education Ministers are demanding the Howard Government scrap its current schools funding model, which is delivering massive funding increases to the wealthiest private schools at the expense of other schools around Australia.
Meeting in Perth today, the Ministers said the current funding model was seriously flawed, and had failed to deliver on the Commonwealth's own policy objectives of distributing funds to schools on the basis of need.
"We want Federal Education Minister Brendan Nelson to admit there are serious flaws in the current system and to guarantee that the failed system will be scrapped and replaced with something fairer and more equitable," they said.
"Anything less will see the gap between elite schools and the Government system widen even further.
"Dr Nelson is presiding over an unfair and inequitable funding model that has failed the Commonwealth's own objectives, which were to lower fees for private schools to promote greater choice.
"In fact, fees for non-Government schools have risen across Australia in some schools by as much as eight per cent per annum.
"The funding of public schools is the shared responsibility of the State and Federal Governments.
"The Howard Government is shirking its responsibility for the nation's 2.2 million public school students.
"It is calling for improved outcomes in literacy and numeracy, but failing to direct any significant funds to those schools most in need of help.
"Ministers have also demanded that they play a role in the development of the new funding model, for the 2005-2008 agreement, which is fair for both Government and non-Government schools."
Commonwealth recurrent funding to non-Government schools across Australia increased by an average of $996 per student between 1999 and 2003. This is more than seven times the growth for Government schools.
If the funding model remains unchanged, by 2007 non-Government schools will receive an average of $4,531 per student in Commonwealth funds, compared with $828 per student in Government schools.
Signatories to this release:
Minister for Education (WA) - Alan Carpenter
Minister for Education (Vic) - Lynne Kosky
Minister for Education (SA) - Trish White
Minister for Education (NT) - Syd Stirling
Minister for Education (Tas) - Paula Wriedt
Minister for Education (NSW) - Andrew Refshauge
Minister for Education (ACT) - Katy Gallagher
Minister for Education (Qld) - Anna Bligh.
WA Education Minister's office: 9213 6800
