REX - Regional Express

forefront A trend of enrolments from government schools into Catholic and independent schools over recent years can be described as a "negative loop". Parents who can afford school fees are assumed to be from the higher socio-economic levels, and children from such families perform better on average. As these students are channelled away from government schools, the schools' socio-economic profile becomes lower and the statistical average drops. In government high schools this happens as the selective stream and mainstream are divided. "The consequences of youngsters recruited into schools for high achievers within the government school system can have a negative effect on the environment, the quest for learning and the enthusiasm of teachers as the comprehensive high schools are stripped of their most able performers," says Vinson, who chaired the 2001–2002 Independent Inquiry into the Provision of Public Education in NSW. "To create a competing stream of public education is not achieving the best result." In primary schools it's easy to pick up a silent bias against government high schools. Parents tend to put a lot of effort into explaining why they have chosen a private or Catholic school for their children, without explicitly denigrating government schools. This trend has seen attendance levels at government schools decline. The student demographics within government, independent and Catholic schools are varied. On average, there are higher numbers of disadvantaged students in government schools. In many cases it may be a class-conscious decision to not send children to government schools, but one that parents are too coy to admit. At last count, 66 per cent of Australian non-government schools, an increase of 17% over 10 years. 64% worked in government schools. 290,854 teaching staff in government and In 2011 there were FAST FACT kids attend government schools, 20 per cent are at Catholic schools and 14 per cent are at independent schools. Of total funds, 63 per cent reaches government schools, 19 per cent goes to Catholic schools and 18 per cent goes to independent schools. The way funding is shared is not intuitive. The federal government sends more to Catholic schools ($4.03 billion) than government and independent schools ($3.63 billion and $2.18 billion, respectively). State governments pay 80 per cent of the cost of government schools but also tip in 18 per cent of funds required by Catholic schools and 11 per cent for independent schools. Private funds, including fees paid by parents, account for six per cent of government school funds, 29 per cent of Catholic school funds and 59 per cent of private school funds. The Gonski Review recommends the federal government should have a greater role in funding government schools, and the states and territories should have a greater role in funding non-government schools. Any debate about education will be heavily politicised. For many people the topic is just the excuse they need to rant about prejudice and privilege. That isn't helpful. The characters of Parliament can be relied upon to drag this one out for sure. CAN YOU SPEAK UP, TEACHER? Some kids in Australia live a long way from school. Hundreds of kilometres is much too far to cycle. For them, the School of the Air is a lifeline to education. It started in the early 1950s with the help of a network of pedal-powered radios that connected the Outback. Radio lessons, as featured in some episodes of Ski ppy The Bush Kangaroo, were augmented by mailed coursework. Today, the School of the Air services hundreds of sites over 1.5 million square kilometres of Australia, with mailed coursework, UHF radio lessons and an interactive two-way satellite broadband network comprising the services. Although the radios are no longer pedal- powered, students have the opportunity to congregate for occasional sports days, so they still get to stretch their legs. 49

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