Shadow Minister for Education, Senator Jonno Duniam, will tell an education forum hosted by the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) that Australia’s schooling system is under strain and underperforming, and that policy must shift from spending debates to the delivery of real outcomes for students.
At the event in Sydney on Wednesday, Senator Duniam will note that there is now taxpayer spending in Australia, on average, of at least $21,000 per year on every school student – yet one in three Year 9 students can not even meet minimum literacy and numeracy standards.
He will say that, “our 15-year-olds now perform, on average, more than a full school year behind their peers in countries like Singapore in mathematics, and behind the OECD average in science.”
The Shadow Minister will add that, “for far too long, our national debate on, and national approach to, education has been hijacked by the wrong questions. Namely, how much more money should we spend – and on which of the various already-failed strategies should we spend it?”
Senator Duniam will highlight several priorities for reform, including that:
- Australia’s national curriculum must be knowledge-rich, evidence-based and apolitical, as well as squarely focused on literacy, numeracy, science, history and civics;
- higher standards for teacher training are needed, embedding evidence-based instruction and opening more flexible pathways into the profession;
- government, Catholic and independent schools all make vital contributions to Australia’s education system, and should not be pitted against each other; and
- parents are entirely justified to demand more clarity and more accountability on school performance.
Senator Duniam will also speak to his constructive engagement with Education Minister Jason Clare, noting that the Minister has continued key reform work, including on teacher education and training, and that bipartisan support now exists on a number of education issues, including phonics and numeracy screening.
“Education represents the most fundamental source of opportunity in Australia,” Senator Duniam will add.“Australia’s children only get one chance at a school education. We owe it to them — and to their parents, teachers and communities as well, frankly, as every other Australian — to get this right.”
“We need to develop an education system that respects choice, supports teachers, trusts parents, and promotes and delivers the excellent results that Australia’s children deserve in a first-world country like ours.”