Students denied new facilities

Most NSW public secondary schools won't receive new science and language facilities because the Federal Government refused to change its funding guidelines.

Principals, teachers and parents in hundreds of public secondary schools are angry and disappointed that their students missed out on new facilities announced this week.

Keira High School principal, Maurie Mulheron, said:

'Our students missed out on the state government's program to refurbish our science laboratories, and now they've missed out again.

'NSW principal, parent and teacher organisations wrote to Minister Gillard in May with a proposal to spread the science and language centres investment to nearly all 431 schools that applied. Our proposal was flatly rejected, and now students across the state will be denied access to new facilities.

'We've had problems with the implementation of the primary schools building program, problems with the maintenance program - and now they've botched this up. I call on Federal Minister Gillard to explain why our students' science and languages education is less deserving of financial support from her government.'

Rooty Hill High School principal and Deputy President of the NSW Secondary Principals' Council, Christine Cawsey, said:

'A sensible proposal to spread the Science and Language Centres funding to nearly all NSW secondary schools was rejected by the Federal Minister.

'Our school's science laboratories are in desperate need of refurbishment. Our teachers do a great job and our students work really hard to succeed. We are so disappointed that the Federal Government has denied our community the benefit of this investment.'

Teachers Federation Deputy President, Gary Zadkovich, said:

'They are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on private schools that already have modern facilities while ignoring the genuine needs of NSW public secondary schools.

'It remains a mystery why Education Minister Gillard would allow her office to make such a foolish decision. This should have been a good news story for all secondary schools in the state. Instead, they've denied thousands of our students their due share of this Commonwealth investment in science and languages education.'

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Last Modified: 02 Jul 2009