The education revolution - one year on

They need to amend the current non-government schools’ funding Bill before the Senate so that it provides funding for one year only. It has been estimated that this Bill includes about $2.5 billion in over-entitlement payments. This generosity, planned in the good times, will be an increasingly bad look when the federal government surplus runs out and public schools are sent back to the lamington drives. Australia’s public schools need at least $3 billion extra each year - this is the amount already determined by a federal-state taskforce (PDF 2.9MB).

Then they need to bring forward the review into the whole funding framework. On current plans any improvements from this review, as it is currently scheduled, won’t be felt until we are into the third term of a Rudd Government.

They should make sure that policy matches rhetoric. If Gillard is concerned about equity why continue funding policies that increase inequity even among private schools? If they are concerned about student achievement why increase the concentration of those already disadvantaged? They should place a priority for funding on those schools which are in the most need, which serve the whole community and not preferred bits. Only in this way will they raise the achievement of all our children with all the community, social and national economic advantages that will flow.

When the smoke from the revolution dissipates the fundamental challenges will still be there. All students will still need to learn, from a very early age, in well-resourced classrooms and taught by quality and well-supported teachers. The emphasis is on all students and quality. Everything else must serve this and policies which detract from this should be discontinued.

Sure, there might be a cake for the Rudd Government’s first birthday - but the problems are really going to mount when the national funding cake starts to shrink and the harder decisions have to be made about who gets the biggest slices.

Maybe in the meantime they should just quietly drop the “revolution” tag.