From our National body: THE AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF STATE SCHOOL ORGANISATIONS The national voice of parents of children in Australia’s public schools and their school communities Parents call on Federal Government to unite with states and honour school funding promise As the state and territory ministers meet this Friday parents call on them to unite and hold the government to their election promise to implement the Gonski model. The federal government should not betray Australia’s children by abandoning the funding system it promised during the federal election campaign. Australian Council of State School Organisations president Peter Garrigan said parents voting at the federal election had relied on Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s pledge that he was on a “unity ticket” with Labor on school funding. Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne’s claim that the Labor funding model was a “shambles” and his intention to scrap the reforms after one year were deeply disappointing, Mr Garrigan said. The Gonski Review was the biggest study of school funding in 37 years and saw more than 7,000 submissions from parents, teachers, education researchers and economists amongst others, he said. “The funding model developed from this major review was not just thrown together at a P&C meeting or on a whiteboard in a minister’s office,” Mr Garrigan said. “It was designed to give every Australian child a world class education. “For Mr Pyne to suggest he would scrap this would break a promise parents relied on when the country voted the Coalition into government. “To abandon these reforms would be a betrayal of Australia’s children, who the Gonski Review confirmed were falling behind their peers internationally. “It would also be an enormous waste of public money at a time when the government is so keen to eliminate waste.” Parents call on education ministers from federal, state and territory levels to unite, for the benefit of Australia’s children, behind the school funding reforms - promised by both major parties at the federal election – when they meet on Friday. Five states signed agreements with the federal government to provide funding for the Gonski reforms. Parents also challenged Mr Pyne’s claim that the Abbott government would be $1.2 billion short of funding if all other states and territories were included in the scheme. “The federal government needs to ensure it gets its priorities right and finds the money for every child in Australia to be covered by the Gonski reforms,” Mr Garrigan said. “Every child deserves a top quality education, irrespective of where they live or what their family background. “Investment in education is the key to Australia’s future, as economic research shows it is the biggest driver of increased productivity.” “Without this investment, Australia will fall behind its competitors.” Mr Garrigan said it was important to reverse the ever widening gap between the highest and lowest performing students – something that would be made possible with the Gonski funding. The Gonski models focus on equity means that children with learning difficulties and disabilities, indigenous students, those in remote areas or from non-English speaking backgrounds would all benefit. More teachers’ aides, full time counsellors and other support staff could be employed as a result. Contact: Peter Garrigan 0419986547 28 November 2013
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 04:09:58 +0000
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