Issues in the Australian Educational System
Issues in the Australian Educational System
"The Senate should pass vital the State Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Bill without further delay", Dr David Kemp, the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs said today. "Only when this Bill is passed will every school in the country be able to benefit from the record levels of funding it provides."
The State Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Bill is the biggest ever investment by any Commonwealth government in primary and secondary education. It demonstrates the Commonwealth’s commitment to improving educational outcomes for all young Australians with increased funding, strategic intervention, improved standards and choice.
It will boost public confidence in Government schools by providing not only record levels of funding, but also measures by which schools can demonstrate to parents that their children are receiving the quality education that is their democratic birthright.
This legislation delivers some $22 billion to schools over the next four years and provides increased funding for all schools. Included in this legislation are.
•implementation of the new socio-economic status (SES) funding arrangements for non-government schools which is essential to provide improved funding for schools serving the neediest communities..
"The former category 1 schools –the subject of so much media attention and pretended outrage from the Labor Party - will get about 2.8% of the total funding "said Dr Kemp. "The previous mechanism for funding non-government schools which the Labor Party put in place and twisted through constant political manipulation is now history," said Dr Kemp. "In its place is a fairer and more equitable funding model that provides a significant funding boost for the neediest non-government schools and which reflects the actual needs of parents with their children at these schools."
•Funding for government schools over the next four years will total $8.6 billion. Government schools will receive $1.4 billion more in the next four year funding period than in the last quadrennium.
The legislation also contains a streamlining of Commonwealth equity programs and much stronger accountability for Commonwealth funding.
•The Commonwealth’s new Strategic Assistance for Improving Student Outcomes program is aimed at improving learning outcomes of students who are educationally disadvantaged, including student with disabilities and student struggling to reach the national performance benchmarks in literacy and numeracy This program will provide $1.2 billion over four years. The streamlining of the literacy and numeracy and special education programs gives education authorities greater...