FEDERAL EDUCATION FUNDING: 2002 BUDGET

CHURCH SCHOOLS TO RECEIVE MORE

THAN UNIVERSITIES BY 2005-06

A statistical analysis of the 2002-03 Federal Coalition Budget for Education is available on the Statistics page.

A perusal of Table 7 of the Budget Paper No. 1, page 6.18  and using pupil population statistics reveals:

• Private Church Schools will come in first in the funding stakes in 2003-04 and by 2005-06 they will be way ahead of government schools and even universities. Vocational Education increases are marginal only

      Consider the following:

• Private Church Schools will receive $5.091 billion per annum by 2005-06 (to ensure 30% of the pupil population receive the first class ticket to heaven and the good job)

• Government Schools will receive $2.545 billion per annum by 2005-06 ( to ensure the other 70% learn to know their place as hewers of  wood and carriers of water (Menzies))

• Universities will receive $4.329 billion per annum by 2005-06 (not enough to ensure our Australian universities keep up with world class standards - let alone provide opportunities for ALL our young)

• Vocational and other education will receive $1.457billion by 2005-06 (this is all the Coalition thinks our TAFE Colleges are worth!)

In per capita terms ,

• in 2002-03 a private church school pupil is worth $3,942.5 while

• a government school pupil is worth only $954.1

• By 2005-06, a private church school pupil will be worth $4,991.6 while

• a government school pupil is worth only $1132.0

• Thus in the year 2002-03, a private church school pupil is worth 4.1 times more to theCoalition government than a government school pupil.

Forget about the Howard/Costello Government. What more can one expect from a government which has clawed its way back into power with irresponsible expenditure of our taxes together with the politics of fear.

Government School Supporters should be asking ALP Federal Members a few hard questions:

• Why did the ALP let the States Schools Grants Act - and its Amendments go through the Senate?

• The ALP is threatening to block parts of the Budget in the Senate: Will they allow this astonishing funding of the private church school sector to pass once again through the Federal parliament?

• The ALP is bleating about the Coalition taking from the poor and disabled to give to the rich. What else is this astonishing diversion of education funding from poor government schools to wealthy private ones?

• When did the last "poor parish school" die?

• Is the best way to get funding into schools to permit religious men to run them?

• Is it responsible to permit religious men to duplicate State School facilities to the tune of $5 billion of taxpayers money?

• Is it responsible to permit religious men to dominate funding of a national education system along religious and class lines when the track record of priests and religious orders is fraught with allegations of  abuse of children in both Australia and overseas?

• What happened to Church -State Separation ? Has it become the greatest myth of all in this troubled country of ours?

For further information on the Budget look at future News Releases and our Statistics Page.