Business could have role in determining school curriculum

By Diane Hague

Business should have a greater role in determining what is taught in schools, Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop told a schools-business forum on June 6.

She opened the way for corporate sponsorship of schools along the lines of the controversial British academies model.

Ms Bishop said: "Can any government seriously keep up with the pace of technological change enough to resource every school in the country to keep ahead of those technological challenges?" This further abrogation of responsibility for the funding of public schools is breathtaking, coming as it does from a government with an $11 billion surplus.

She went on to say: "What of charter schools and the experience in the UK as businesses sponsor schools and indeed have input over curriculum?" The experience in the UK is that the government has set up academies largely replacing struggling comprehensives. There will be 83 academies by the end of 2007 and outgoing British PM Tony Blair wants at least 400.

Businesses, entrepreneurs, churches, charities, private schools and universities are approached to run these academies. For an investment of as little as £2 million, which can be spread over many years, companies can get control of the governing body, dictating teachers' salaries, curriculum and policies on admissions and exclusion.

The latest company sponsors include a pork pie manufacturer and a company producing diesel engines.

Bishop had some other hair-raising ideas in line as well with the Government's overall agenda to deregulate the teaching profession. She asked whether school principals needed to be teachers, and talked about breaking down the barriers for teacher registration and accreditation so that business 'experts' could come in to teach. She insulted teachers' expertise by asking whether teachers needed to do work experience: "Can we really expect teachers who have gone through school, gone through university and gone back to schools to teach, to be able to impart to students about the range of possibilities that are out there for student employment?"

The Federal Government has also been pushing the line that Australia made a big mistake by closing down the old technical high schools years ago and continuing the expansion of Australian Technical Colleges. However, if the government was serious about upgrading vocational education and training, then it would significantly increase funding to the proven public provider, TAFE. TAFE is where the experts from business and industry are employed but it seems beyond this government to consider the expansion of TAFE.

Funding of public education must come from government. Businesses would inevitably come with their own narrow agenda. These latest ideas from the Federal Government must be resisted.

Diane Hague is the Administration Officer (Media and Communications).

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Last Modified: 21 Jun 2007