SA $700m better of after signing new schools agreement

South Australia has become the first state to sign up to the Commonwealth’s new schools reform agreement.

SA Education Minister John Gardner. Picture: AAP

South Australia has become the first state to sign up to the commonwealth’s new schools reform agreement in return for $700 million in additional funding, with the deal outlining the federal government’s priorities for improving the nation’s education system.

As part of the National School Reform Agreement, made public for the first time yesterday, the states and territories are asked to commit to a range of “evidence-based” initiatives, including an overhaul of the national curriculum, development of a new opt-in online assessment tool and the implementation of a unique identification code for each student.

They are also being asked to agree to an independent national evidence institute being set up to inform education policy and teaching practice, as well as measures to strengthen initial teacher education, including a rigorous final-year teaching performance assessment prior to graduation. The total cost of the reforms, which aim to arrest Australia’s ­declining academic performance as highlighted by the recent David Gonski-led review of school education, as well as who will pay the bill, has yet to be determined.

According to the agreement, cost-sharing arrangements will be considered and agreed by the Education Council as part of the initial milestone for each reform. Policy initiatives borne by each state or territory will count towards their contribution to school funding.

Further, the bilateral agreement between South Australia’s Liberal government and the commonwealth, also signed yesterday, suggests capital works funding could be included in the calculation of the state’s contribution to school funding.

South Australia is required to pitch in 75 per cent to the cost of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS), which determines how much total funding a school needs to meet the educational needs of its students. It is now set at a base of $10,953 per primary student and $13,764 per secondary student. ­According to the agreement, the state’s funding contribution will be measured consistent with the ­existing methodology along with “all funding for the reform measures outlined in part 1 of this bilateral reform agreement”.

Those measures also refer to the state’s school capital program, specifically, “a program to revitalise ageing infrastructure”.

A spokesman for SA Education Minister John Gardner did not respond to questions on whether the state expected school capital costs to be included when calculating the state’s contribution.

Opposition education spokeswoman Susan Close said it was unclear whether the new deal constituted the significant funding boost the government claimed.

“It seems the definition of what constitutes the SRS has changes so that existing funding may be treated as if it were an increase,” Ms Close said. “If this is the case this further short-changes public schools by effectively double counting some infrastructure and transport costs.”