“Forty two billion dollars is on the table for school education for the 4 year period 2009 to 2012, and there is a sensible and appropriate commitment that no school will lose funding under a the new federal government’s first budget” said Independent Education Union of Australia Federal Secretary Chris Watt.

“’School Choice’ is a critical element of contemporary Australian schooling, and parents and students are increasingly choosing schools, rather than sectors” he said. 

For example, at the 2006 Census, more than 91,000 families with two or more children at school had children in more than one sector, and more than 650 families chose all three sectors.  More than 200,000 students in Australian schools have at least one of their brothers or sisters educated in another school sector. 

“The reality is that a large number of school teachers have their children educated in schools which are not in the sector in which they work.  For these families, any ideological barrier between ‘public’ and ‘private’ remains irrelevant” said Chris Watt

More than 20,000 students in Australian non-government schools have a parent(s) who is teaching in a government school, and 33,000 students in government schools have a parent(s) teaching in a non-government school. 

“The IEUA believes that where need exists and is identified in schools, irrespective of whether they are government or non-government schools, that need should be met” said Mr Watt.

“Accordingly the IEUA welcomes initiatives to address need including the national partnership agreement commitments and the new resources to begin the work on closing the gap for indigenous students.”

“In the longer term the IEUA believes that the real cost of educating our students should be the basis of funding and a commitment to the use of measures such as those of the Productivity Commission, rather than the irrelevant AGSRC, would be a logical and sensible step.”

“Essentially, the review of school funding over the next four years should be to ensure that Australia’s education systems are comprehensive and properly resourced so that the MCEETYA Goals of Schooling are met, no matter where students live or which school they go to.”

Contact:

Chris Watt

Federal Secretary Independent Education Union

Ph        (03) 9254 1830                    0419 259 143