This Month
Fixing the ‘crisis’ of Australian universities
Higher education, in the words of one expert, is in “serious trouble”. Can Jason Clare, regarded as the nicest minister in Canberra, fix the system?
Labor wants 50/50 split between universities and VET
The move would mean pushing tens of thousands of prospective university students towards TAFE and other vocational courses.
May
Newington co-ed fight raises questions about private school charities
When you count so many investment bankers and accounting partners among your old boys, it’s no wonder your trust structures get complicated.
Unis should focus on the education of Australians, says Jason Clare
The minister says Labor’s policies on cutting student debt helped return the party to office. He wants to use its second term to deal with “unfinished business”.
March
Labor’s education report card is one step forward, two steps back
Efforts to put strict conditions on additional school funding to the states to improve outcomes have already been undercut by creating an alibi for failure.
After months of resistance, Qld signs on to $2.8b schools package
Australia’s schools will benefit from a $30 billion boost to funding over the next decade after Queensland was the final state to sign up to a national plan.
Albanese gets NSW over the line on school funding deal
It’s been over a year of negotiations but the federal government now has all states and territories signed on for a new school funding deal – except one.
February
Parents continue shift to private schools
The rising tide of families electing to send their children to private schools has accelerated since COVID-19.
How not to waste Gonski school funding
Additional federal money may unfortunately extend and expand inefficient and ineffective practices rather than lift the quality of teaching.
‘Reading wars are over’: Clare close to multibillion-dollar schools deal
Jason Clare is on the verge of achieving what his eight predecessors failed to do: create a nationally consistent and fair approach.
We asked 4 experts to mark Labor on education. Here’s what they said
Anthony Albanese says education is one of his greatest accomplishments in his first term in government. We asked four experts if that adds up.
December 2024
‘Cruiser schools’ and why parents might not be getting what they pay for
Australia has one of the most privatised school systems in the world, but national data suggests not all students are benefiting from their costly educations.
September 2024
The suburbs where nearly every child goes to a private school
In some suburbs, parents don’t ask whether to go public or private; it’s more a question of which private school to send their kids to.
August 2024
Labor’s ‘populist’ student caps will break funding model: unis
Education Minister Jason Clare sought to allay worries over caps on international students, but his proposal was labelled “scandalous” by one vice chancellor.
‘Face it, not every research project deserves funding’, unis told
Productivity Commission chairman Michael Brennan says vice chancellors need to be more realistic in the claims they make to policymakers.
NAPLAN puts schools in remedial class
The hopes that the $319b Gonski funding revolution would turn around the worst-performing students are turning into one of the great public policy debacles.
Boys’ results plummet early in high school
After 10 years of compulsory schooling, about two in five boys are struggling to read and write at a high level. This is a big problem for the nation.
Three ways to end NAPLAN mediocrity in our schools
Governments must lift proficiency levels, boost the quality of classroom curriculums and identify as soon as possible those students who are falling behind.
Minister on a mission needs a break from the states
The latest NAPLAN results are bad news for too many school students. Jason Clare is determined to change that, but will he succeed where so many others failed?
One in three pupils fails to meet baseline literacy, numeracy
The latest NAPLAN results also reveal a stubborn gap between test results of rich and poor children, highlighting the failure of schools to overcome disadvantage.