independent schools council of australia releases election 'manifesto'

The Sydney Morning Herald, AAP NewsWire, 16 October 2007

 

The Independent Schools Council of Australia (ISCA) has released an election ‘manifesto’ welcoming both major
parties’ focus on education.

Despite this, executive director, Mr Bill Daniels believes that the independent education sector faces increased costs
and a loss of autonomy. He warns that the Howard government’s endorsement of a greater national consistency in curriculum could potentially undermine the independence of non-government schools.

‘The Coalition, while spending more on school education than any other Australian government in history, has been
highly interventionist. Its program of continual reform - while primarily aimed at making state governments more responsible for the quality of their schooling provision - has undermined the autonomy of independent schools and
created new administrative cost burdens,’ says Mr Daniels.

Even though ISCA has also welcomed the ALP’s recent announcement to maintain the current socioeconomic status funding model for independent schools, Mr Daniels has said that it remains unclear in which direction funding for independent schools would take.

Mr Daniels believes that no matter which government wins the election, funding for independent schools may become conditional on performance as both governments move toward a greater consistency in curriculum. Mr Daniels says
that ‘it is unlikely that an Australian government, of whatever political colour, will now rescind its regulatory regime
over Australian classrooms.’

For further information, visit ISCA’s website and click on the ‘Election 2007’ link on the left hand panel.

 

 

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