The BCA joins the Chorus for a Better Education Deal

Commenting on the BCA's policy paper "Restoring our Edge in Education", IEU Federal Secretary Lynne Rolley said the BCA “is clearly looking for a better deal than what the Howard government has delivered for Australia although there is not a lot in the report which is new."

“At the core of this paper are the themes of the education policy debates of more than ten years ago. Back then, government, business and unions focused on the urgent need for Australia to have a highly skilled workforce to ensure our ongoing international competitiveness in a globalised economy. The issues addressed in public policy included increased retention rates to year 12 or its equivalent, flexible pathways, contextual learning and strategies to address equity issues in our education system,” said Ms Rolley.

“The BCA’s paper addresses these issues and is really an indictment on the Howard government’s incapacity to ensure that Australia’s education system is competitive in the globalised economy,” said Ms Rolley.

“The Federal Government has failed to properly invest in the nation’s educational infrastructure, to provide comprehensive affordable early childhood education and to provide for long term workforce planning for education”, she said.

“It’s important that the Business Council of Australia is lending its weight to the concerns which have been voiced by the teaching profession and the education community broadly,” said Ms Rolley.

“In the end, we need as many voices as possible saying to the Australian community that a nation of our wealth and prosperity deserves a better deal on education than what the Howard government has provided.

For instance, despite the federal government’s huge tax receipts and budget surpluses, the BCA report notes the following:

• Australia’s investment in education is below the OECD mean. Between 1995 and 2003, total public expenditure on education declined from 4.5 to 4.3% of GDP
• This lack of investment in education is evident in poor infrastructure and technology and demonstrates the government’s low priority for education
• The unemployment rate for 15-24 year olds is at 9.1% - more than double the overall rate.
• More than 300,000 young people between 15 and 24 are either unemployed or working part-time and not taking undertaking full-time education.
• Australia has one of the lowest secondary school completion rates among comparable countries.
• Australia has not had a coordinated, national whole-of-government approach to early childhood education and care and is at the bottom of OECD countries in terms of investment in early childhood education.
• From 1983 to 2003, average teacher pay has fallen in comparison with non teachers with a degree. (on an average percentile rank from 74 to 61).
• There are critical shortages of teachers in certain subject disciplines and large numbers of teachers being required to teach in areas for which they are not well prepared.

“These are important statistics for the community to know about the state of Australia’s education at present,” said Ms Rolley.

“However, once again it is unfortunate that we have a report talking about teachers and their work but with little acknowledgment of the profession’s commitment and successes or a determination to hear the profession’s voice,” she said.

“Indeed in spite of poor government policy and inadequate funding over the past decade, Australian students have been highly competitive in the international surveys with most students meeting benchmarks. The outcomes indicate that Australian students are flexible and adaptive learners and that they have gone on to contribute to the building of Australia’s strong economy over the last decade. 

“The BCA is looking for a better deal for education in Australia to ensure we have a highly skilled workforce and internationally competitive economy. As the organisation representing 65,000 members in non government schools, the IEU looks forward to discussing the report with the BCA so that the policy detail can be explored further.  

Contact:

Lynne Rolley                                                      

Federal Secretary

Ph: 03 92541830

Email: ieu@ieu.org.au