Education
NSW is about to get a new budget. Here’s what we already know
Amid an unfortunate accounting error and a huge blow to revenue, the budget is set to be one of restraint. But before it is released, there’s a lot we already know.
- by Anthony Segaert
Latest
Exclusive
Parents left in the dark after principal and deputies leave north shore school
Families say they are “bewildered” by the sudden change in the public school’s leadership. The NSW Education Department says there is an internal investigation under way.
- by Lucy Carroll
Updated
Sydney University orders protest camp to leave
The move to disband the encampment comes almost eight weeks after pro-Palestinian protesters took over the university’s iconic quad lawns.
- by Daniella White
Albanese accused of ‘cowardice’ on law change after gay teacher sacking
The Greens say Labor could work with the crossbench to change the law after a Sydney teacher was fired from her job in a religious private school.
- by Natassia Chrysanthos
This Sydney school science lab has shut down until there is money to fix it. How did it come to this?
The problems at one northern beaches school are just the tip of the iceberg as the state education system grapples with budget cuts and frozen funds.
- by Lucy Carroll
Exclusive
A school parent discovered Charlotte was gay on Facebook. Days later, she was sacked
A Sydney Christian school fired their music teacher because of her sexuality in the weeks since the government threatened to shelve new laws that would protect LGBTQ staff from discrimination.
- by Natassia Chrysanthos
Universities under pressure from MPs to adopt antisemitism definition
Jewish MPs want all Australian universities to adopt a politically contested definition of antisemitism.
- by Angus Thompson
Exclusive
Private schools oppose right to disconnect for teachers
Some of the country’s most elite schools, like Sydney’s SCEGGS Darlinghurst and Melbourne’s Scotch College, want to retain the “flexibility” they require from staff.
- by Olivia Ireland
$10-a-day childcare should be ‘right there’ with Medicare, public schools
A think tank says the estimated $7 billion cost of providing free or low-fee early childhood education and care would be “more than offset” by other benefits.
- by Rachel Clun
Updated
Cranbrook settles with former head as he launches complaint with ABC
Nicholas Sampson and the school’s governing council have resolved a dispute after his dramatic resignation from the prestigious all-boys institution.
- by Lucy Carroll
Parents respond to Citipointe expression of regret
Former teacher and parents speaks out after Citipointe Christian College reaches settlement with parents over gender contracts.
Editorial
They say cheaters never win, but they can make universities losers
Unchecked cheating has the potential to hurt Australia economically, but for universities it amounts to an existential threat.
- The Herald's View
Exclusive
Thousands of students caught cheating overwhelm university integrity departments
Experts fear a cheating black market involving international students and visa fraud is contributing to rising levels of students being caught cheating.
- by Daniella White
Exclusive
Minister warned unis of campus tensions days after October 7
Universities assured Education Minister Jason Clare they had measures in place to deal with antisemitism on campus within days of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
- by Angus Thompson and Natassia Chrysanthos
Exclusive
The maps that expose the state’s great HSC divide
Experts warn that some students are becoming effectively ‘locked out’ of tertiary study.
- by Lucy Carroll and Nigel Gladstone
Cranbrook School misses deadline to answer three key questions
After claims of a toxic work culture and the inappropriate behaviour of a teacher, new documents reveal the prestigious school failed to meet a federal government deadline.
- by Jessica McSweeney
Revealed: Where every Australian university sits in global rankings
A Sydney university has reached an all-time high while three Australian universities are in the top 20.
- by Daniella White
Treat us like mining: Universities warn of 4500 job cuts over student crackdown
Universities say they face a $500 million funding shortfall and are calling for the sector to be given the same bipartisan support as the mining industry.
- by Angus Thompson
Opinion
Explicit excellence shows value of traditional ways
Explicit teaching is now being recognised, as it should always have, as the most effective learning method for the vast majority of students.
Opinion
Let’s not be tossers to our foreign students. Looking at you, Randwick
We’ve opened our doors, but not our hearts, to international students. Now a Sydney council has joined the pile-on.
- by Jenna Price
Sydney teacher charged with filming students’ private parts
The 30-year-old man will face court on Tuesday after he was allegedly caught filming up female students’ skirts by a schoolchild.
- by Sally Rawsthorne
‘White devil’: The Indigenous protest song that has parents up in arms
NSW Education Minister Prue Car has intervened after a parent complained about a song calling Captain James Cook a “white devil” being played at a public primary school.
- by Angus Thomson
This school doubled its NAPLAN high achievers. Now its techniques are spreading
About 30 schools across NSW have formed a grassroots network to share maths lesson plans and run professional learning for teachers and school leaders.
- by Lucy Carroll
This Sydney university wants to build 1000 apartments. Locals are up in arms
A dramatic stoush has broken out over a proposal for two student housing towers on Anzac Parade next to a light rail stop, UNSW and acting school NIDA.
- by Michael Koziol
Exclusive
How much screen time is too much? This is the answer to every parent’s question
New data reveals how Australian schools rank among OECD nations for the time students spend on digital devices in classrooms.
- by Lucy Carroll and Robyn Grace
Australian universities are under siege from all sides. Are they powerless in the face of political attacks?
The federal government’s use of international student numbers to slash migration puts universities’ business models at risk. Here’s why.
- by Daniella White
Newington College co-ed fallout leads to Supreme Court stoush
Opponents of Newington’s decision to admit girls won a Supreme Court battle against the college’s old boys’ council last week.
- by Kishor Napier-Raman and Noel Towell
Nearly half of Australian school students failed this science test. Can you pass?
The latest National Assessment Program report in science literacy found about a third of year 6 students say they do not have science lessons every week.
- by Lucy Carroll and Robyn Grace
Student campers reject Sydney University’s pledge to review defence ties
The university said its offer to review its defence ties was more comprehensive than ones accepted by other encampments across Australia.
- by Daniella White
Opinion
What’s the point of going to uni? It’s a question I’m still asking
I had gone to school with people who thought tertiary education was something to be admired. What surprised me, when I actually arrived, was how pointless the whole thing seemed.
- by Flynn Shan Benson
How the changes to higher education debts will affect you
How will the changes to HECS indexation actually work? And how much do you stand to benefit? Here’s a quick guide.
- by Rachel Clun
Exclusive
Colleges face mass closures as students from whole continents banned
Hundreds of private colleges face closure as the government pushes ahead with its plan to slash migration.
- by Daniella White
Former NASA boss arrives to boost Australian space race
Lt Gen Larry James has moved to Australia to increase our teaching and research capability.
- by Stephen Brook
Sydney pro-Palestinian students suspended after classes ‘significantly disrupted’
The university says some students have gone beyond the bounds of acceptable behaviour in protesting against the Israel-Gaza war.
- by Daniella White
Thousands of Australians want a place at a top US university. Here’s how Rizina got hers
Australian students vying for entry to elite US and UK universities are beginning their college preparations from as young as 12.
- by Daniella White
Opinion
I support the right to protest, but these Melbourne Uni students should be expelled
What’s now occurring at the university has crossed a line and is negatively impacting many other students. An environment that legitimises antisemitism has been fostered.
- by Matthew Bach
Exclusive
‘A lot of angst’: Sydney principals spooked as school funds vanish
The removal of funds from schools’ bank accounts comes after a funding freeze and coincides with a $10,000 pay rise for teachers.
- by Christopher Harris
‘Girls are struggling the most’: What’s really going on in our schools
Australian teenagers are more likely to feel unsafe and bullied at school than their international peers, while schoolgirls are highly anxious without their digital devices.
- by Robyn Grace and Lucy Carroll
Nearly half of Sydney Uni’s students come from overseas
The institution was the only NSW university to post a surplus in 2023, although it underpaid casual academics about $70 million.
- by Daniella White
Opinion
Push to ditch physical books reignites tablet versus textbook debate
The proliferation of technology in classrooms leaves educators facing the question of how to make the most of the ways it can support learning without increasing students’ exposure to the negatives.
- by The Herald's View
Exclusive
Parents push back after school’s decision to ditch books for screens
An inner west public primary school has told parents that students will use an e-library rather than physical books for their home reading program.
- by Lucy Carroll
‘Love or lust’: Travelling chastity preacher at schools sparks parent backlash
The virtues of modesty and virginity will be discussed at the talks, which parents have criticised as outdated.
- by Christopher Harris and Lucy Carroll
Lecturer sacked over Nazi swastika incident loses bid to get reinstated
Controversial political economy academic Tim Anderson’s job was terminated after he showed students slides featuring the symbol imposed over the Israeli flag.
- by Daniella White
‘Chaos reigns’: The countries that have dodged Australia’s student visa crackdown
The government wants universities to cut their reliance on this market. It’s also a country with one of the highest visa approval rates.
- by Daniella White
Graphic content
A boy forced himself on a girl at a NSW high school. He was allowed to continue attending
Schools still don’t know how to respond to sexual assault between classmates, two years after the state government commissioned a review about what to do when a sex assault victim and perpetrator attended the same school.
- by Jordan Baker
Doing hard maths for the HSC isn’t paying off. Here’s how it plays out for your ATAR
A quirk of the ATAR system is effectively punishing ambitious students. Compare these questions to see the difficulty levels.
- by Christopher Harris
Universities face bans for breaching foreign student caps
The dramatic intervention, introduced by Education Minister Jason Clare in parliament, aims to force down migration.
- by Angus Thompson
Opinion
Our friends are shocked we don’t send our son to a private school. Here’s why
As an outsider, I see Australia’s selective and private schools mainly as a mechanism that perpetuates social inequality.
- by Theun Pieter van Tienoven
Exclusive
As schools struggle for teachers, even $28,000 bonuses aren’t enough
A new survey of 6800 educators across NSW shows an increase in teachers leaving public education for a position in a private school.
- by Lucy Carroll