Peter paying Paul?
A PROGRAM to fund run-down schools will be shut down under the federal Labor Government, in favour of placing computers in schools.
In an interview with The Advertiser to coincide with her first day as acting Prime Minister, Education Minister Julia Gillard said Labor would stop the Investing In Our Schools program.
Instead, Labor would provide schools with infrastructure such as computers and trades training centres, she said.
Investing in Our Schools program was initiated by the Howard government that was unique in that it provides parents, teachers and students with the opportunity to tell the Australian Government directly what is important to their school community.
I guess that’s not important anymore – Julia knows better than the parents, teachers and students – she is after all, Acting PM.
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Kev
This program targeted any school that took the trouble to put in a submission. It wasn’t confined to run down schools, which incidentally got this way because of the states being starved of funds for infrastructure.
Its advantage was that it wasn’t specific to any particular goal, so submissions were easy to write. My old school built a playground under this scheme, opened just before the election by my old mate Ian. We’d had the submission written for years waiting for a funding source to come along.
Its disadvantage was that the funds couldn’t be spent on salaries, so the pollies always scored a plaque with the local members name on. It belongs to the same genre as free flagpoles, and was about as well thought out.
It was a fairly sophisticated form of pork barreling, and the amounts were small in proportion to the staged reduction, in comparison with other developed countries, in the amount the feds spent on education since 1996.
In my time in education I have seen scores of schemes like this funded by both sides of politics. They’re pocket money designed to curry favour, and the demise of this one won’t be mourned for long. They make a small difference for a short time.
To make any enduring difference, any spare funds should be spent on improving the skills of teachers. We’re talking surgery, not band aids.
“states being starved of funds for infrastructure.”
The States got a huge increase in funds through the GST and still cry poor.