Writer
Trevor Cobbold
Trevor Cobbold is National Convenor of Save Our Schools.
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How has education come to this?
For a country that prides itself on the egalitarian ethos of a ‘fair go’ for all, the latest results from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) are a distressing reminder that many are not getting a fair go in education. The egalitarian label is a self-indulgent delusion as far as education is concerned. Continue reading »
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Disadvantaged Students Denied Adequate Funding by Massive Tax Concessions for the Wealthy
The latest Tax Expenditures Statement shows that Australia can easily afford the Gonski funding plan to bring under-resourced public schools up to the national standard and reduce the large proportion of disadvantaged students not achieving expected benchmarks. It is simply a matter of reducing the tax privileges of the wealthy to support increased learning opportunities Continue reading »
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The Barnett Government Has Slashed Funding for Public Schools
The claims by the Western Australian Government that it has massively increased school funding in recent years are highly misleading. The fact is that the Barnett Government has taken to the axe to funding of public schools while boosting its funding of private schools. It has abandoned disadvantaged students, the vast majority of whom attend Continue reading »
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Resource Gaps Between Advantaged & Disadvantaged Schools Among the Largest in the World
Disadvantaged students in Australia are being denied equal opportunities to learn because they have less access to qualified teachers and material resources than advantaged students. The gaps in access to education resources between advantaged and disadvantaged schools in Australia are among the largest in the world. Continue reading »
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Labor Again Exposed as Morally Bankrupt on Private School Overfunding
An unholy alliance between Tanya Plibersek and Tony Abbott on overfunding of private schools was again revealed this week. Labor’s position on overfunding was exposed as morally bankrupt, cynical and at complete odds with its supposed support for the principle of needs-based school funding. Continue reading »
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Birmingham misleads on School Funding and Outcomes
Improving the results of disadvantaged students is the major challenge facing Australian education. Yet, the Minister continues to wilfully ignore the extensive research evidence demonstrating that increasing funding for disadvantaged students is critical to improving outcomes. Five major academic studies published in the last year alone show that increased funding improves results, especially for disadvantaged Continue reading »
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Reversing the Flight to Private Schools Depends on Reforming Australia’s Incoherent and Unfair Funding System
New school enrolment data show that the long-term shift of students to private schools has stopped in recent years. But, whether it will be sustained is uncertain given school funding trends that massively favour private schools. Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this month show no change in the share of enrolments between Continue reading »