Garrett can't say how much Gonski money will go to Catholic, independents

PETER Garrett is unable to put a figure on how much money Catholic and independent schools will receive in the first year of the Gonski reforms.

SCHOOL Education Minister Peter Garrett has been unable to say how much money Catholic and independent schools will receive in the first year of the government's Gonski reforms.

Mr Garrett said negotiations with both sectors were still ongoing and details needed to be thrashed out even as Labor continues to urge other state governments to sign-up to its proposed overhaul of school funding.

Mr Garrett was unable to say when the negotiations would be concluded but stressed they were in the "very final stages".

He also rejected suggestions Catholic and independent schools would be worse off after they both raised concerns over the lack of detail in relation to funding for non-government schools under Labor's plan.

"We will conclude those negotiations with the non-government school sector, absolutely secure in the commitment that we've made,'' Mr Garrett told Sky News Australian Agenda.

''And I believe we will successfully do that over time.

''I for one will be absolutely pleased when we're finally able to get these negotiations settled. There are details to be settled finally and I won't be revealing the final outcome on TV till that's done."

While he could not say how much money would be going to Catholic and independent schools in the first year of Labor's proposed reforms, Mr Garrett has provided a commitment that each sector will receive over $1bn in extra funds.

On Friday, he released a statement saying that Catholic schools would receive an extra $1.4bn in extra funding over the next six years, while independent schools would benefit from $1.1bn in extra funding.

The statement was issued in response to concerns over funding raised by the Independent Schools Council of Australia and the Catholic Education Commission.

The ISCA has challenged Julia Gillard's claims about increased funding. The association wrote to the Prime Minister saying there was a "reduction in Australian government funding for schools rather than the increases to school funding that the government indicated would flow to disadvantaged students".

The NSW Catholic Education Commission also sent a memo to all Catholic school principals and church area leaders, warning about the funding projections in the budget being pushed beyond the next three elections. It warns there is no guarantee the funding to 2019 will ever be delivered.

Catholic and independent schools' support for the proposed $14.5 billion-a-year funding changes is crucial for state and territory governments to sign up to the education reforms.

Mr Garrett also remained optimistic about the government's prospects of signing up further states to the plan by June 30 with NSW Liberal Premier Barry O'Farrell the only Premier or Chief Minister to support the package.

He was confident of signing up the other Labor states - Tasmania and South Australia - within the next couple of weeks.