Education debate needs to be balanced and fair
By Ron Dullard
Catholic Education WA director
The Australian Government Review of Funding for Schooling, led by Mr David Gonski, is engaged in a review focussed on funding for all schools. There will be much debate about the role of governments and the priorities for funding over the coming months. Our children deserve a constructive and honest debate on future funding arrangements and as such fair, reliable and accurate information will be fundamental to the debate.
The recent article by Robert Fry (“Fairer education funding overdue”. The West Australian, 30 May) raised several concerns about perceived inequitable funding of government schools. Unfortunately the selective nature of the information in the article did little more than continue the divisive “public versus private” debate of old.
The following facts in terms of funding of schools, as demonstrated in the graph (pictured), are sourced from the recent Deloitte’s analysis of MySchool data for the government.
The data shows that nationally the average net recurrent income per student for government schools is $11,100 compared with $10,000 per student in a Catholic school and $13,700 per student in an independent school. These figures include school fees and other private income with the various sources of funding highlighted.
What is indisputable is that when all forms of government funding are considered (that is both federal and state – the red + green) non-government school students receive substantially less government funding per student than government school students. Any claims that they get more government funding are transparently wrong.
In Western Australia, the student averages demonstrate a similar picture, but with independent averages slightly lower ($12,756) and slightly higher averages for government ($13,585) and Catholic ($10,722) schools.
This reflects the higher cost of providing education across a geographically diverse state and illustrates the significant point that the Catholic system of schools parallels the government system as a provider with similar geographic and socio-economic diversity. In the case of eight Catholic schools in the Kimberley region there is no other provider. In many respects there is more commonality between the two systems than difference! But funding is only part of the story.
The standard of resources and buildings in government schools is an important issue that is often cited as part of the funding debate. The concerns are legitimate, but in making comparisons it needs to be recognised that non-government schools fund their facilities predominantly through loans which require significant debt servicing out of the funds available. Government schools are not required to service such debt.
Catholic schools are servicing diverse communities and take their social responsibilities seriously.
While Catholic families are given priority there are places available for non-Catholic students. The enrolment of Health Care Card holders in WA Catholic schools reflects the proportions in the wider community. These and many other families have access to significant fee concessions. There are many refugee and indigenous students enrolled in Catholic schools free of charge.
According to the Index of Community and Socio Educational Advantage (ICSEA), only 3 of the 10 most educationally disadvantaged schools in WA are government schools. Conversely, 8 out of the 10 most educationally advantaged schools are government schools.
Similarly the implication that non-government schools do not have appropriate accountability arrangements is completely fallacious. Catholic and other non-government schools have the strictest financial accountability requirements through State and Australian Government agencies.
All schools are required to submit externally audited financial accounts to DEEWR. Individual government schools are not required to meet such demands.
Furthermore, the school registration and ongoing audit process through the Department of Education Services ensures that non-government schools meet all other requirements as stipulated under the Education Act.
Choice in education is important for all parents and is a vital part of Australian democracy. The Catholic sector in Australia is a large and genuinely national enterprise and has provided an accessible and affordable choice for the past 170 years.
There are 1,700 Catholic schools in Australia equating to one in five Australian school students being educated in a Catholic school. The most recent PISA data indicates that Australian Catholic schools achieve high quality outcomes whilst maintaining high standards of equity. Supporting this choice with appropriate funding is vital.
Factual information which enables parents to make such choices is also imperative and has been the thrust of this article. Equally important for our nation is identifying the real issues in schools and determining how the Review of Funding for Schooling can address them. So what is the real issue?
The real issue is about improving the educational and life outcomes of students and in so doing, recognising the way that schools can autonomously address the needs of their communities. Recent moves to create independent public schools, similar to a governance model used by Catholic schools, has the potential to empower local communities and lead to real educational change. All educators would agree that government schools need more funding but it would be a mistake to just give more funding to keep doing the same thing. Equally non-government schools require a proportionate share of increased funding.
The teachers in our schools are the nation’s greatest asset. Research consistently shows that the single most important factor in schools for improving student outcomes is the quality of the teacher. Any major increase in funding therefore should be aimed at getting the best possible teachers in front of our students whether they be government or non-government students.
Raising the status of teaching, establishing salaries that provide appropriate reward for effort, providing opportunities for growth and professional development, will all be significant elements of any reform process.
The National Catholic Education Commission has made a submission to the Review of Funding for Schooling calling for certainty in future funding arrangements. In so doing there is a call for increased funding to assist indigenous students, students with disability, schools in regional and remote areas, and new arrival and refugee students in order to achieve better educational outcomes. At the same time the maintenance of existing funding levels in real terms is essential if Catholic Education is to continue to provide a high quality and high equity education.
In a recent public statement Minister Garrett outlines his desire for a “mature debate on funding arrangements” and a move away from the “unproductive and divisive public versus private debate”.
All should be working towards this goal and that of a better future for the students in our schools.