Gonski Review is released.

Read the Review Panel's Final Report | Your School Our Future  -The 285-page Gonski review, released today, proposes major changes in the way resources are distributed between private, government and Catholic schools.

In  School funding needs big expansion Katrina Curtis stated: "It criticised current funding arrangements for being unnecessarily complex, lacking coherence and transparency and duplicating funding in some areas."

Noting that the performance of Australian students has slipped significantly based on international comparisons since 2000, the report calls for a "schooling resource standard" - the funding required to deliver a high quality education for every child. The final report of the federal Review of Funding for Schools suggests a new Schooling Resource Standard be established that would apply across the public and private sectors.

Public schools would be fully publicly funded under the standard, while there would be a minimum public contribution to non-government schools of up to 25 per cent of the standard per student.

Businessman David Gonski headed the independent review into school funding. Picture: James Croucher The Daily Telegraph

SCHOOL FUNDING NEEDS BIG EXPANSION: PANEL 

The panel said  "Private Schools that did not charge fees or took on students with very high needs could receive full government funding." Candidates for full funding may be special schools serving children with disabilities, schools where the overwhelming majority of the population was indigenous, and sole-provider schools in remote locations.

"The important issue from a national perspective is not who provides the resources for schooling for all Australian children but that they are actually provided," the report stated.   I must agree!!! however,  the proposals require an estimated $5 billion boost in funding. (The figure was based on 2009 estimates, meaning the cost in real terms would be significantly higher today.)

Where do we find that sort of money if all of the recommendations were to be considered and implemented?
School Education Minister Peter Garrett said this morning there would "absolutely not" be a multibillion-dollar cash injection to Australia's education sector as a result of the report. "For those reasons it is important that we take the next steps in this reform process thoroughly and with care . . . The Australian government is committed to returning the budget to surplus in 2012-13 and to ongoing fiscal responsibility," SADLY not to equity!!
See School Education Minister Peter Garrett's Funding Review Address (video)

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has warned any changes to school funding models must be sustainable and take into account the budget challenges of Australian governments.
The report also says all schools, especially government schools, should seek out philanthropic partners for money and expertise. I fear we will not find many who will rush forward with their hands in the air, waving bucket loads of money at us!

As many anticipated, not much will change to improve the equity in providing education to all Australian students in the immediate future.   Bianca Hall,in Surplus before schools as Gonski report decries student disadvantage sums up: "Rather than commit to any of the recommendations or findings in the review, the government will instead embark on another round of consultation. This is in addition to the more than 7000 submissions received, 39 schools visited and 71 education groups visited as part of the 18-month review process to date."

 

SBS NEWS reports that :"The Australian Education Union has responded to the Gonski review by broadly supporting the recommendations."