Children who attend public schools could fall further behind if the government fails to adequately fund their education, teachers' unions warn. On Monday, federal Education Minister Jason Clare will meet his state and territory counterparts in Sydney to discuss schooling improvements. As reported in The Australian, the Commonwealth is understood to have offered to lift its share of public school funding from 20 to 22.5 per cent - about $2.3 billion extra over three years. But Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe says this is not enough to address an stretched school system. "Right now, the achievement gaps between children of different backgrounds and locations are too great and we have a growing teacher shortage crisis," she said. "The challenges are too great and the costs too high for governments to continue to fail on funding." Additional investment could help support smaller class sizes, additional support for students with complex needs. But just 1.3 per cent of all public schools are funded to the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) - the amount of investment needed meet students' educational needs. Though the Victorian and Queensland representatives have asked the federal government to lift their public school funding share to 25 per cent, Ms Haythorpe said it should go further. It should increase its contribution to 40 per cent of the SRS in the Northern Territory, where student disadvantage was greatest, she said. Ms Haythorpe also accused the Commonwealth of short-changing public schools while over-funding private schools. "The reported offer from the Albanese government of $2.3 billion for public schools is less than the $3.2 billion it will spend overfunding 40 per cent of private schools, including some of the richest in the nation," Ms Haythorpe said. "Funding public schools at 100 per cent of the SRS is the only way to ensure every child gets every opportunity to succeed and we have the teachers we need for the future." She called on governments to ensure all public schools were fully funded by 2028. The prime minister previously promised to fully fund public schools in a January 2022 speech at the National Press Club, before his party won the election. NSW Teachers Federation acting president Henry Rajendra echoed Ms Haythorpe's sentiments, pointing at the $1.9 billion funding shortfall in his state's public schools. "The Albanese government must commit to fully funding all public schools in New South Wales without delay," he said. "All kids deserve a decent shot at life." Australian Associated Press