Victoria
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Victoria News
Save
Print
License article

'The inequity is worsening': a tale of two schools and a school funding debate

Henrietta Cook

Here are two schools, from two sectors, that are two kilometres apart.

They serve the same diverse community in Cranbourne and enrol students from similar backgrounds.

Up Next

Dance teacher jailed over child porn

null
Video duration
00:32

More NSW News Videos

Schools funding explained
Video duration
01:50

Schools funding explained
null
Video duration
00:32

Dance teacher jailed over child porn
null
Video duration
00:29

Father questioned after baby death
null
Video duration
00:30

Arthur 'Neddy' Smith attempts hospital ...
null
Video duration
01:59

Aboriginal midwife breaking cycle of ...
null
Video duration
01:50

Is Sydney outgrowing its infrastructure?
null
Video duration
00:32

'His life was stolen by a worthless ...
More videos

Schools funding explained

Why school funding is set to become one of the most important debates in Australian politics.

But according to the latest data, the state school Cranbourne Secondary College received $10,954 in state and federal funding per student while the Catholic school St Peter's College Cranbourne received $12,765.

It's a scenario that plays out across Victoria, according to new analysis that has been released as hostility over the future of school funding deepens.

The analysis, which was commissioned by the Australian Education Union, found that mid-range Catholic and independent schools in Victoria received more federal and state government funding per student than similar state schools in 2015.

In the "Education State", a student at an independent school with the average socioeconomic make-up received an average of $11,938 in government funding. This compared to $11,064 for a student at a similar Catholic school, and just $9547 for a student at a comparable state school.

Advertisement

The author of the analysis, retired principal and public education advocate Bernie Shepherd, said the situation was unfair because state schools had to enrol all students. Unlike non-government schools, they do not charge tuition fees.

"You have Catholic and independent schools operating under quite different sets of rules and regulations, receiving precisely the same or even more public funding," he said.

"The inequity is worsening. Students in government schools are being sidelined."

The analysis, which was based on My School data for every Australian school, also showed that between 2009 and 2015, combined state and federal funding rose by 38.7 per for independent schools, 35.6 per cent for Catholic schools and 17.6 per cent for public schools.

Nationally, the average independent school student received $8743 of government funding, while those at Catholic schools received $10,479 and public school students each received $12,416.

Independent Schools Victoria chief executive Michelle Green said the analysis "over-simplifies discussion on funding for ideological purposes."

She said school funding was based on student need, socioeconomic status, disability, isolation, Indigenous students, school size, and English language proficiency.

Catholic Education Melbourne executive director Stephen Elder said the analysis did not compare "apples with apples" and was misleading. He said it did not take into account whether schools were primary or secondary schools (which cost more to run), or the growth in students with a disability attending Catholic schools.

He said the Catholic schools that receive more government money than similar state schools were disadvantaged. "The Victorian Catholic system has decided to allocate more funding to these schools because they have high needs."

He said more-advantaged Catholic schools received less funding than "similar" state schools.

Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe said the analysis highlighted the need for the federal government to commit to the full needs-based Gonski school funding agreement.

She said the system was "skewed".

"This is more evidence that the funding system we had before Gonski did not deliver funding to schools that need it the most."

Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham said that over the past four years, Commonwealth funding to Victoria had increased by 29 per cent for government schools and 18 per cent for non-government schools.

"This survey ignores the fact that over the past four years the Commonwealth Government has increased funding to all schools in Victoria by more than 22 per cent, while the state Victorian government had actually cut funding in real terms," he said.

Victoria's acting Education Minister Gayle Tierney said the analysis didn't take into account funding boosts delivered by the Andrews government since the start of last year, which targeted the neediest schools.

While state government's provide the bulk of funding to state schools, the Commonwealth is the primary funder of independent and Catholic schools.