When will they ever learn?

The staffing deregulators are at it again, writes GARY ZADKOVICH.

The NSW Government and Department of Education and Training's (DET's) recycling of the discredited devolution agenda of the 1980s and early 1990s exemplifies a failure to understand the history, culture, organisation and achievements of the public education system.

Sadly, too few at the head of the recently restructured DET or in the Ministry comprehend why NSW public education delivers world class results.

There is inherent value in continuously looking for ways to improve the quality of teaching and learning in our public schools. Teachers know that and do it. They also know what it means when politicians brandish a 'change agenda' like a junk-shop souvenir from the latest overseas trip.

Note the contradictions in the Government's recent actions. On July 25, Premier Bob Carr said: "In many cases, this tremendous improvement [in literacy] has been a direct result of the hard work and dedication of each school in creating a new culture of learning... I would like to thank teachers and principals for their dedication in improving the literacy skills of all students..." This is said at the same time the Government attempts to impose changes to school staffing policy in the context of the teacher salaries case, as if that same staffing policy does not contribute positively to such system-wide achievements in public education!

Experienced teachers will recall the "Flexible Human Resource Management Trial" and "Your School's Right to Choose" as failed attempts to deregulate the staffing of our public schools. Federation urges all members to consider any attempt to deregulate school staffing in light of the following decision of June Council:

"Devolution in the public sector is a tool used by conservative governments to abrogate responsibility and accountability for their failed policies which result in under-funding of quality government services. In an era of decreasing resources, under the façade of devolution and 'flexibility', governments seek to shift responsibility and, ultimately, blame.

"History tells us the resources allocated at the initial stages of such policy implementation quickly contract. This is demonstrably so with school global budgets as they relate to the employment of casual staff, utilities and the maintenance of school equipment and facilities. The experience of Victoria also shows us that devolution has a severely negative impact on attracting and retaining staff in rural and remote and disadvantaged areas, as well as reducing union membership density.

"The experience of local recruitment of health professionals in country towns demonstrates the pitfalls of this practice. The free market approach to staffing hospitals and recruiting doctors has produced a situation where essential medical services are unavailable in many rural communities. Devolution of staffing in education would produce the same results in schools.

"Without compromising a school's capacity to effectively respond to immediate operational issues, the DET must develop efficient systems which will put an end to the wasteful duplication that exists across over 2000 schools. In doing so, it will address a serious workload issue for principals and staff, allow principals to focus more on educational leadership and achieve savings generated through economies of scale.

"Recent outcomes demonstrate the bona fides of the Federation in achieving meaningful flexibility and efficiency at the workplace within regulatory frameworks.

"Examples of this include:

• "the establishment of the Casual School Teacher Plan which includes Casual Direct
• "the allocation of above-establishment resourcing for equity programs
• "the allocation of professional development funds
• "the allocation of a school's executive staffing entitlement
• "the current trial of the 'In Built Relief' scheme which provides extra staff in schools experiencing difficulties with the supply of casual teachers.

"The Federation will oppose moves which could result in:
"i) the devolution of staffing budgets to schools
"ii) the dismantling of the statewide staffing system
"iii) the undermining of employment security and a viable career structure
"iv) the loss of crucial educational leadership positions and/or faculties
"v) the further erosion of educational leadership in schools through increasing managerial responsibility.

"Any one of these would undermine the fundamental curriculum guarantee in schools.

"Federation also notes that changes such as those above may be accompanied by a significant increase in workload for principals with diminished security of tenure."

Federation members must be prepared to campaign again to protect the statewide staffing system from those who don't know why or how it came to be, or why it remains so important to the future of public education.

Gary Zadkovich is the Administration (Media and Communications) Officer.

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Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005