Fed: PM to be bombarded by demands for more schools funding

AAP General News (Australia)
04-18-2000
Fed: PM to be bombarded by demands for more schools funding

CANBERRA, April 18 AAP - Australians will be urged to bombard Prime Minister John Howard
with postcards demanding more federal funds for public schools under a joint campaign
by teachers and parents.

The Australian Education Union (AEU) and the Australian Council of State School Organisations
(ACSSO) joined forces to launch the community campaign today.

They said the campaign would highlight the cutbacks endured by public education under
the Howard government.

It would encourage people to send a postcard to Mr Howard calling for an increase in
funding for public schools to be made a priority for the upcoming federal budget.

AEU deputy federal president Janet Giles said the government could not ignore the weight
of public support for better investment in public schools.

"The education system that has the responsibility for teaching 70 per cent of this
nation's children has missed out on close to a billion dollars in funding, compared to
private schools in the past five years," Ms Giles said.

"Public schools were once again overlooked in the 1999 federal budget and Australia
simply cannot afford to let this happen."

The AEU again called for the controversial Enrolment Benchmark Adjustment (EBA) funding
scheme to be dumped.

Under the scheme, every time a student leaves a public school for a private school,
they take a share of government funding with them.

The government argues the EBA is a fair way of distributing funds.

But with growth in private school enrolments outstripping growth in public schools,
the AEU has slammed the scheme as leaving state schools worse off.

"Public education is being attacked on many fronts, but most harmful has been the Howard
government's refusal to increase recurrent expenditure to government schools in proportion
to the increases they have given to private schools," Ms Giles said.

"At the same time, the iniquitous Enrolment Benchmark Adjustment is eating into recurrent
grants for public schools despite increasing enrolments."

ACCSO president Ian Morgan said parents had every right to be worried about the ability
of public education to continue providing quality education.

"We are encouraging them to tell the prime minister that their children's education
and future is of paramount importance and that they regard public education as a funding
priority," Dr Morgan said.

AAP daw/mfh/bdm

KEYWORD: BUDGET SCHOOLS

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