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‘Extra funding’ to continue quality Catholic education schools
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| By Damir Govorcin
18 November, 2012 |
Extra funding under the Gillard Government’s National Plan for School Improvement will enable Catholic schools to continue to deliver quality education in the spirit of social justice that is such a strong feature of Catholic education, says School Education Minister Peter Garrett.
He said there will be more money for students that need extra support – such as students with limited English skills, those from lower income families, indigenous students and students with disability. There will also be extra support for small schools and schools in regional areas.
The extra money will be fully publicly funded so schools that enrol disadvantaged children, or are in rural locations, will get guaranteed support to help them meet the extra costs.
“We acknowledge the contribution to providing education opportunities for the disadvantaged, and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students among others that have been part of the Catholic system’s frame and consideration for the provision of education.
“And we’re absolutely clear that funding will continue to rise under any new model, and that no school will lose a single dollar per student as a consequence of any new model.”
He said the Government’s plan is based on three principles:
• it is a “truly national plan that will benefit every school – Catholic, government and independent”.
• every school wiill see its funding increase – “nothing in our plan will cause school fees to rise”.
• funding to all schools will be calculated according to the needs of every individual student. The per student amount will be adjusted “according to the capacity of the school community to contribute to education costs”.
Catholic educators were dissatisfied with the Prime Minister’s response to the Gonski review of schools.
Dr Dan White, executive director of Catholic schools in the Sydney archdiocese, cited the absence of real data about what the base funding for each student will be (the ‘resource standard’) or the amount of additional money that will be allocated on top of that for students most in need (loadings).
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