WHAT we don’t want to hear from the State Government, as kids get set to return to school this week, is how many families have accessed their School Saving Bonus.
As much as ‘cost of living’ is being touted as the number one election issue, the $400 payment they’re offering is little more than window dressing compared to what is the disturbingly obvious top issue for public education in this state – the teacher shortage and the number of mid-term teachers considering an early exit.
Just prior to the Australia Day long weekend, came the announcement that the Albanese and Allan governments finally reached an agreement to lift Victorian public school funding to 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard.
It’s an agreement that’s at least 12 months late.
What it means is that while the Federal Government has committed to paying 25 per cent of the funding for school program delivery here, up from 20 per cent, the State Government will also commit their full 75 per cent to school budgets, without the opportunity of slicing off four per cent of public school funding for indirect costs such as capital depreciation.
This accounting initiative, reportedly introduced by a former Victorian Coalition Government, will see millions of dollars returned to teacher recruitment and school programs.
Overall, the ‘full funding’ change will generate $2.5 billion in additional Commonwealth funding to Victorian public schools over the next 10 years, and as long as they don’t waste it, the funding is expected to support initiatives “that improve the attraction and retention of teachers” among other things.
And having identified the teacher shortage and retention problems, the community must be kept informed about the progress being made in this regard.
The additional funding also comes with a key focus on “helping students catch up, keep up and finish school” including via new reading and numeracy programs starting in Year 1 this year.
Again, we want to see a step improvement as a result, aware that Victoria is continuing to fall behind the world’s top performers in STEM participation and achievement.
The bottom line is that kids who attend public schools deserve the same teaching standards, programs and opportunities as kids who attend private schools.
And, the sooner everyone acknowledges the fundamental importance of engagement and positive outcomes at school in all other aspects of life the better.
Not forgetting that parents retain an active responsibility for their child’s education.
All we want to see each year after all is improvement, from the kids and also from the authorities, and on that score we’ve got to give the Albanese and Allen a solid B+ for making a good start.
All the best for a great school year in 2025!
