Writer
Trevor Cobbold
Trevor Cobbold is National Convenor of Save Our Schools.
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NT school funding agreement includes more accounting fiddles
The new school funding agreement between the Commonwealth and Northern Territory governments brings a much needed boost to public schools funding. However, the claims by the Federal Education Minister, the NT Chief Minister and the NT Education Minister that Territory public schools will be fully funded by 2029 is a deliberate falsehood, that is, a Continue reading »
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Productivity commission exposes private school funding defects
New analysis by the Productivity Commission of donations to school building and other funds highlights how antithetical private school funding is to the concept of needs-based funding. Continue reading »
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Private schools serving richest NSW families over-funded by millions
New figures reveal scandalous over-funding of NSW Independent schools serving the richest families in the state. Hundreds of millions of taxpayer funds are being squandered on just 52 highly privileged schools while public schools go begging. Continue reading »
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Exposed: Private Schools caught in commonwealth funding rort
The increasing number of Grandparents paying private school fees has enabled elite schools to evade Commonwealth parent income tests determining the rate of taxpayer funding that goes to society’s most wealthy and least in need students. Continue reading »
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Government funding increases continue to favour private schools
New figures again demonstrate the bias against public schools in Australia’s school funding system. Continue reading »
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Fully funding public schools is critical for the government’s education agenda
The recent announcement by the Federal Minister for Education, Jason Clare, that the government wants to raise the percentage of young people achieving a tertiary education to 80% points to the huge stakes at issue in the current negotiations between the Federal and state governments on the next school funding agreements. Continue reading »
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Labor’s complete capitulation to elite private schools….again!
A few hours of testimony before the Education Committee of Senate Estimates exposed the canker at the heart of school funding in Australia. The canker is the double standard applied to the funding of public and private schools. The Assistant Minister for Education, Anthony Chisholm, announced that a tax rort worth hundreds of millions of Continue reading »
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Private schools had biggest decline in PISA results
Catholic and independent schools had the biggest declines in the OECD’s Programme of Student Assessment (PISA) test results since 2009. Their students lost 1½ to nearly two years of learning in reading, mathematics and science. The falls in test scores were far bigger than for public schools. Continue reading »
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The lost decade of school autonomy in NSW
It is just over ten years since the school autonomy program called Local Schools, Local Decisions commenced in NSW. It has been a lost decade. It was supposed to increased student results but high inequity in education continues with more bureaucracy, less central support for schools and bigger workloads for principals and teachers. Continue reading »
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Shocking Inequity in NSW school outcomes and funding
The latest NAPLAN results show shocking inequalities in school outcomes between highly advantaged and disadvantaged students in NSW. Continue reading »
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Labor should scrap the Stage 3 Tax Cuts for the rich
The Albanese Government should scrap the Stage 3 tax cuts for the rich. They are indefensible when public education and other critical human services face a funding crisis. New studies show that there are no trickle-down economic benefits from tax cuts for the rich. They only to boost inequality directly and indirectly. Continue reading »
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A review of “Waiting for Gonski”
The book Waiting for Gonski was published earlier this year on the 10th anniversary of the Gonski Report on school funding. It is a well-researched and well-written account of the history of the Gonski funding model, its flawed implementation including many special deals for private schools and its destruction by successive Coalition governments. It should Continue reading »
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Equity in education must be clearly defined, measured and reported
Equity in education has long been a key national goal for schooling. Most recently, it is one of the key goals in the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Declaration of national goals. However, it has never been clearly defined. This deficiency has resulted in a variety of interpretations, inadequate target, limited reporting and lack of accountability for Continue reading »
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Morrison government to over-fund NSW private schools by nearly $1 billion
NSW private schools are massively over-funded by the Commonwealth Government. Estimates based on official figures presented to Senate Estimate show that the NSW Catholic education system and nearly 40% of Independent schools will be over-funded by $865 million by the Commonwealth Government from 2022 to 2028. Continue reading »
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NSW public schools face a funding crisis while private schools are over funded
Public schools in NSW face a funding crisis. Combined Commonwealth and NSW Government funding for private schools has increased by three times that for public schools since 2009-10. Projected funding estimates show that private schools will be over-funded by $2 billion for the rest of the decade while public schools will be under-funded by $21 Continue reading »
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We need to get Gonski back on track
The Gonski Report on School Funding was published 10 years ago this month. It promised much to increase equity in education. However, its promise was undermined by fundamental flaws in Labor’s new model and trashed by Coalition governments. Continue reading »
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New funding figures pressure Labor to offer fair deal to public schools
Unless there is a dramatic change in school funding policies the vast inequity in school outcomes will continue for the rest of the decade. Continue reading »
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Greed or need? Privileged schools top the class in avarice
Highly profitable private schools raked in millions from JobKeeper, underlining the deep flaws and inequality in Australia’s school funding system. Continue reading »
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Don’t mind if we do: Victorian private schools deep in JobKeeper trough
A scheme designed to save Australia from long unemployment queues has been a gravy train for the private schools serving the most advantaged families. Continue reading »
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In education we are now measuring motivation rather than learning
The international education juggernaut is under scrutiny for reliability as figures show some students make scant effort — and there are implications for NAPLAN. Continue reading »
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Nobel Prize reveals how much money matters in education — and carries a lesson for Australia
Research by a Nobel Prize for Economics winner shows the impact of education funding on the future success of students is greater than previously believed. Continue reading »
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Wealthy schools pocket millions in JobKeeper funds despite profits
Blessed are the rich! The payments to elite schools despite their healthy bottom lines and vast assets highlight the pressing need for education funding reform. Continue reading »
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Private schools brawl to get their snouts deeper in the funding trough
A coalition of Independent schools complained (on the ABC 7.30 Report) that they are disadvantaged by the Morrison Government’s new funding model because their funding increase is not as big as others. They want yet another special deal from the Morrison Government as do many other Independent schools. Continue reading »
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Education department refuses to hold private schools accountable for taxpayer funding
Yet another damning report by the Auditor-General shows that the Commonwealth Department of Education continues to fail to fully hold private school systems accountable for how they distribute taxpayer funding. It also criticises the Minister for Education and the Department for failing to meet their parliamentary reporting obligations. Continue reading »
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Tudge fudges school results and funding
The Minister for Education, Alan Tudge, was fudging figures to denigrate Australia’s school performance at the The Age education summit last week. He claimed the UK as the new benchmark for education performance, but ignored serious flaws in the reporting of its results. He also fudged data on school funding and student results in Australia. Continue reading »
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Numbers don’t lie: Public schools underfunded by $60bn; private overfunded by $6bn
The Morrison Government has abandoned all pretence at funding private schools according to need and has washed its hands of ensuring that public schools are fully funded. Continue reading »
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Beware false idols of education excellence: take PISA test results with a grain of salt
Research shows that a large majority of students do not fully try on low-stakes tests such as PISA. There is little incentive for students to perform because there are no personal consequences. This could help explain the stark contradiction between Australia’s falling PISA results and its improving Year 12 results. Continue reading »
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Morrison’s private school funding model ignores the Bank of Mum and Dad
Private schools will receive $130 billion from the Federal Government over the next eight years. It constitutes massive over-funding by taxpayers because the Government’s funding model ignores a major source of family income used to assess the financial need of private schools. Continue reading »
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Public schools are as good as private schools
The widely held myth that private schools deliver better results than public schools has taken another blow. A new study of NAPLAN results shows that public schools do as well as private schools despite the large resource advantage of private schools. Continue reading »
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To those that have more will be given: Education resource gaps in Australia
New evidence shows that education resource gaps between disadvantaged and advantaged schools in Australia are among the largest in the OECD and the world. This is a shameful record for a country that regards itself as egalitarian. Continue reading »
