The Teachers Federation has accused the federal government of trying to score cheap political points while continuing to slash the education budget following Monday’s release of the latest Gonski recommendations.
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The report calls on all states and territories to ditch the "industrial model of schooling" in favour of a more modern and individual approach to fix the country's lagging school system.
It has also called for the across-the-board implementation of a new online assessment tool that teachers would use to diagnose the exact level of literacy and numeracy a child has achieved.
While the federal government has agreed to implement all the recommendations handed down, NSW Teachers Federation New England and North West organiser Susan Armitage said the “devil is in the detail.”
“It is a significant report with a number of key recommendations that highlight the challenges facing the education system in Australia,” Ms Armstead said.
“But there is nothing new in there – this is the usual political trick of coming up with recommendations with one hand, while cutting the funding required to implement them with the other.
“The first Gonski review, which recommended needs-based funding has been completely ignored. This Liberal Nationals government has cut $1.9 billion in funding for the next two years alone.”
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In the report David Gonski also called for an urgent review of year 11 and 12 curricula, to counter the undue focus on getting students into university.
“The rigidity of the national curriculum is a handbrake on the system, serving up a fixed-year level diet of knowledge, skill and understanding,” Mr Gonski said.
He also stated that the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is being used “as a disproportionate yardstick for overall school performance".
He believes a more more flexible senior curriculum, including apprenticeships or work experience, should be considered, while also arguing three out of every ten primary schools are “cruising” to maintain middling results.
“There is nothing new in these models – a number of them had already been made through the Australian Education Union’s submissions, which called for strong systemic support of schools,” Ms Armstead said.
“The report and recommendations are great, now just give us the money to do it.
“The reasons schools are underperforming is because money does matter. The original Gonski model of needs-based funding would have lifted all schools.”
Mr Gonski concluded his report by asking politicians not to pick and choose from the recommendations.
“Taken together, and implemented in a sustained way, these reforms will reverse the decline in student outcomes in recent decades,” he said.