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National education and union news
Post COVID-19 funding for schools a critical need
Majority of workplaces not closing gender pay gap
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An urgent investment in public school funding is required now more than ever to ensure students are not educationally disadvantaged as a result of COVID-19, the AEU has recommended in their prebudget submission. AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe described the forthcoming federal budget as a critical opportunity for the federal government to ensure all students have the opportunity to overcome any impacts the pandemic may have had on their learning. “Public school principals, teachers and education support staff are still in urgent need of funding to help alleviate the challenges faced by schools and students during COVID-19,” she said. “The pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities in education, particularly for students with additional needs. The moment to address those inequalities is now.”
Results from the AEU’s State of our Schools Survey, conducted in October 2021, show that public school principals, teachers and education support staff need greater support and resources to support students impacted by the pandemic.
• Eighty per cent of all principals said they lacked necessary ongoing funds to support students who need extra help.
• Seventy-three per cent of all principals said they need additional funds for ICT equipment for students.
• Sixty-three per cent of all teachers said that student well-being has declined, with 36 per cent saying it has declined significantly. • Sixty-nine per cent of all teachers said student engagement has declined, 25 per cent saying it has declined significantly. “These statistics demonstrate the urgent need for the federal government to fund public schools to at least 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard, as the AEU has recommended in its pre-budget submission,” Ms Haythorpe said. “Without substantial investment in public school funding, buildings and equipment, education inequities experienced by students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds will continue to exist.
“Not only do individual students stand to benefit from increased investment in school funding, but our whole community will benefit through the long term educational and economic gains.”
Six in 10 large Australian employers made no progress in closing the gender pay gap over the year to March 2021, with 85 per cent paying men more on average than women, according to the latest Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s Gender Equality Scorecard. employers with over 100 employees shows that the gap in earnings between men and women has barely moved and is sitting at 22.8 per cent, with women earning on average $25,800 less than men.
The Morrison Government has resisted making any legislative or policy changes that could assist in closing the gender pay gap, including changes to the Fair Work Act to strengthen equal pay rights, and wage increases for our lowest paid frontline workers, the majority of whom are women.
Despite the refusal of the Morrison Government to guarantee 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave for all
workers through the National Employment Standards, the data shows that unions have now won some form of paid leave in more than 50 per cent of workplaces.
ACTU President Michele O’Neil said the scorecard data showed what had become expected under a government which refused to lift a finger to close the gender pay gap.
“This government talks about its commitment to women, but when it comes to closing the gender pay gap or acting on the recommendations of the Respect@ Work report, or even ensuring gender equity in its own ranks, there is a complete lack of action,” she said.
“The legacy of this government is stagnation in the fight for pay equity. It is clear that the Morrison Government likes to talk about listening to women but in practice does nothing to improve their pay.”
Failure to fairly fund public education continues
The 2022 Report on Government Services (ROGS) released by the Productivity Commission shows the extent of the Morrison Government’s failure to fairly and adequately resource public education. “The data is yet more proof of the Morrison Government’s ongoing failure in public education,” AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe said. “From preschool to TAFE, Australian children are at risk of being left behind by the Morrison Government.
“The facts are clear. Australians cannot trust the Morrison Government to fairly fund public schools. They contribute just 16 per cent of the funding for the education of the majority of Australian students.”
On school funding, the data shows: • Public schools had 2.6 million FTE students enrolled (65.6 per cent of all
FTE students) in 2019-20.
• The Morrison Government provides just 16 per cent of public school funding. • Total recurrent funding for private schools from the Morrison
Government has grown at 1.8 times the rate of public schools in the last decade.
“The Morrison Government continues to strip funding from vocational education and training, while their investment in universal access for four-year-old preschool has declined in real terms,” Ms Haythorpe said.
On vocational education and training and early childhood education, the data shows:
• Since the Morrison Government was elected in 2013, real terms government expenditure on VET has declined by $1.1 billion (15.9 per cent).
• This is a decline from the 2012 peak of $7.9 billion.
• Preschool funding has declined by $77.6 million (14.9 per cent) in real terms since the Coalition took government in 2013, while the number of children attending preschool has remained stable at 268,000 since 2016. “Australian students and their families, along with their dedicated teachers, principals and education support staff deserve much better,” Ms Haythorpe said. “We need a federal government that will put public education first. “The coming federal election is an opportunity to elect a government committed to ensuring every student can enjoy the benefits of a fairly and adequately resourced public education system.”
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