Ministers talk school funding

FORMAL talks over the implementation of a new funding system for schools will begin today as education ministers meet in Sydney.

FORMAL negotiations over the implementation of a new funding system for schools will begin today with a meeting of education ministers in Sydney.

The gathering, which precedes next week's meeting of the Council of Australian Governments, will discuss recommendations made by the review of school funding, headed by businessman David Gonski, including how to calculate the level of funding per student stipulated by the review as the minimum required by all schools.

Ministers will also discuss extra loadings for disadvantaged students recommended by the Gonski review, such as for students with disability, from low-income families and indigenous students, and to rural and small schools, as well indexation arrangements and a national definition of disability.

School Education Minister Peter Garrett, who has convened the meeting, will remind ministers the decline in the performance of Australian school students is a national problem, and the National Education Agreement, under which the federal government provides funding, commits the states and territories to consider reforming school funding.

Mr Garrett said the federal government was not seeking to impose reforms on the states and territories, but hoped all ministers would come to the table "with the full intention of working through the issues".

He said the commonwealth remained "absolutely committed to pursuing national education reform". He has also committed the government to introducing legislation for school funding by the end of the year but refused to speculate yesterday whether it was more likely to extend existing funding arrangements than outline a new model.

But Victorian Education Minister Martin Dixon said the idea of introducing new funding legislation this year was ambitious and extending existing arrangements until a new model had been settled was "more realistic".

Mr Dixon said Victoria opposed the idea of a new independent authority to set school funding levels, as recommended by the review, and instead would rather see separate bilateral agreements between the commonwealth and each school system, with different dollar amounts reflecting the individual circumstances.