It’s time for Anthony Albanese to be “that Prime Minister” for public schools.
As a society, we expect governments to uphold their responsibility to provide every child with a quality education. If only they did. Just this year alone, New South Wales public schools face a funding shortfall of $1.9 billion and the consequences for students and teachers are dire.
As the Daily Telegraph revealed just last week, the funding inequity between public and private schools is stark and growing. According to an analysis of the federal Budget by the NSW Department of Education, over the next four years, the Commonwealth will tip $24.2 billion into the state’s 970 non-government schools, and only $14.3 billion into the state’s 2,200 public schools.
Amazing work happens in public schools every day. When a child learns to comprehend a sentence and then build on that with another, a world of knowledge or story telling suddenly opens up. When they master the basics of multiplication, their capacity to scale that skill for broader problem solving is remarkable. As a science teacher in Western Sydney I regularly shared mini-Eureka moments with students. It remains the highlight of my working life.
But these are not nice-to-have experiences for students. They are must-haves. And a recent survey of nearly 7,000 NSW public school teachers and principals paints an alarming picture. A staggering six out of seven principals reported teacher shortages at their school in the last year – the highest of any state. Half said they had unfilled teaching positions at the time of the survey. Schools are being forced to merge classes, run classes without teachers, and cut specialist programs. This is no way to run an education system.
The challenges don’t end there. Over two-thirds of principals and teachers have seen a decline in student wellbeing and engagement in the past 18 months. Nine out of ten teachers reported a decline in teacher wellbeing and morale. Workloads are unsustainable, with teachers working an average of 50 hours per week. It’s no wonder that only one in six teachers in NSW say they are committed to staying until retirement.
When schools are underfunded and under-resourced, it’s the students who pay the price. Children who have fallen behind in literacy and numeracy, and those with disabilities or learning difficulties, are being left behind because schools simply don’t have the resources to give them the support they need. Only one in ten principals believes the level of school counsellor support at their school is adequate, with some students waiting months for an appointment.
We cannot continue down this path. The challenges facing NSW public schools are too great, and the cost of inaction too high. Fully funding public schools is the only way to give every child the support they need to succeed. It is how we attract and retain the high-quality teachers our students deserve.
Ultimately, the federal government has the financial firepower to fully fund public schools as it is the level of government with the greatest capacity to raise revenue.
That’s why we are calling on the Prime Minister to step up and deliver the funding our schools so urgently need.
The federal government must also remove the funding loophole created by the Morrison government that further shortchanged NSW children. The loophole allows the artificial inflation of the SRS by including costs not directly related to the learning needs of students such as capital depreciation and regulatory costs. In NSW public schools in 2023 this equated to $640 million being diverted away from public student learning in order to inflate the state’s overall SRS share.
Some will argue we can’t afford this investment. But the truth is, we can’t afford not to. Providing a quality education for every child is not just a moral imperative, it’s an economic necessity. Today’s students are tomorrow’s essential workers and leaders. They are more vital than any bridge, tunnel, port or railway. Shortchanging their education now condemns all of us to a less prosperous and inclusive future.
So let’s dispense with the excuses and start investing in our children’s future. Let’s give every student in NSW the resources and support they need to thrive. It’s time for the state and federal governments to fully fund our public schools. Our kids are counting on us to get this right.
An edited version of this opinion piece was published in the Sunday Telegraph on 16 June 2024