The current system of funding for both public and private schools in Australia has been in place for more than half a century. Australia’s hybrid school system is proving unsustainable.
Nearly 5 decades ago, in the ‘70s, Australia established the current funding system for both public and private schools. Public schools remained fully funded, so they were open & free to everyone. Private schools, partially funded by government, were open to some, though at a price.
It was probably the perfect script to create today’s mess. Dean Ashendran commented that Australia may have ended up in a situation where some schools are allowed to select students based on their ability to pay, religious affiliation, or academic performance, while other schools are prohibited from using any of these criteria. Some parents may be required to pay fees even when they cannot afford them. This is besides parents who aren’t beside the can. This is in addition to parents who are given the full menu and those who must take what is served.
Another education specialist back in the ‘80s opined that Australia was unique in the democratic world. It was a kind of wonder at which people in other countries gaped. It remains unique, so people may still gape, although it may still fail to work. The difference today is the result of fifty years of accumulated problems. Australia’s entrenched inequity, along with issues like inequality and achievement gaps, is impossible to hide.
Reviewing what went wrong… Partisan politics and ad hoc federalism are frequently blamed. Almost every reform solution thrown at the system has made little difference.
Several countries resolved similar problems during the ‘70s, although in different ways. British Columbia in Canada funded their private schools at half the cost of running local public schools. They may charge fees for the other half. They may lose their public funding if the fees are raised more than that. It may not be perfect, although BC’s school system may be in far better shape than Australia’s. Subject to strict conditions. New Zealand fully funded most of its private schools. It’s not perfect either, but they are further ahead of Australia in equality and equity stakes.
Australian schools have long suffered the vagaries of politics and rampant vested interests besides changing governments. Politics rule. Labour governments try to sustain needs-based funding. The Coalition favours private schools. Both assume that any change, including funding, may simply be grafted onto the existing public/private system. The system has contrasting and unequal obligations, as well as disparities in resourcing. As such, Australia’s schools have become the socially divided system anticipated by its critics & avoided by other countries.
Schools are now divided in almost every community. School choice, for those with the resources to choose, may have become a scramble for perceived advantage. This creates an apartheid-like social separation between low- and higher-status schools. Ross Gittins once asked, ‘What do the rich school students say to the poor school students?’ The answer was nothing, as they never met.
In the public mindset, school division is between winning and losing schools. These are schools that have ended up at the top of the socioeconomic hierarchy. This division is the growing private school sector as well as selective or well-positioned public schools. These schools are committed to maintaining their current advantages. They may be schools that advantaged families may admire, although politicians may not want to touch.
How does one change such a system? The answer may be that change becomes possible only when the system is clearly failing, necessitating some form of action. Australia may now be at that critical point. Recently, inequity & unfairness across the system have drawn increasing attention. This is alongside concern about a parallel decline in overall student outcomes.
