Choice is all very well, but not at the expense of education

Yet Nelson had provided schools run by the Exclusive Brethren with exemptions from testing computer literacy for year 6 and year 10 students, despite this being made a condition of Federal Government independent school funding. Far from telling such schools to clear off, the then education minister provided them with $6.6 million in funding.

Perhaps of greater concern than compliance with curriculum requirements is the management of some newly established independent schools. I have acted for a number of independent schools and one school principal in workplace relations disputes. These schools were established by well-meaning and sincere folk who wanted to provide children from their congregations with the best possible education. But good intentions alone are no substitute for expertise and experience in educational administration.

One school had a principal who had not even completed year 12, let alone possessed any qualifications or experience in running a school. This principal took his time paying the award entitlements of some of his staff though his own salary was always paid on time.

By contrast, another school of the same denomination and hardly three suburbs away was managed by a bursar who was a qualified chartered accountant and had taken a 40 per cent pay cut to leave his old job and devote himself full-time to the new school.

And what about the students attending such religious schools? How will they cope at university or in the job market where they will be faced with pluralism in religion, culture, ethnicity and sexual preference?

Mismanagement is not necessarily the norm for newly established schools, and not all students from these schools graduate as social misfits. But the reality is that the Commonwealth Government has thrown money at community-based schools managed by devout and sincere people with little or no educational credentials or experience. The community may be paying too high a price for a small minority of parents to exercise choice in their children's education.