A local education professional has said the Turnbull government shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the Gonski school funding, following an announcement the Coalition will not fund the final two years of the scheme.
Retired Wagga educator Lex Bittar, who was awarded an Order of Australia Medal last year for his lifelong commitment to teaching and education, said the Gonski scheme had provided the state’s schools with many benefits, and still had more to give.
“There’s a tremendous amount of good that's come out of Gonski and I still think there's more good it can do for schools,” Mr Bittar said.
His comments come after education minister Simon Birmingham revealed on Tuesday the Coalition would seek to strike fresh funding deals with the states from 2018.
According to Mr Bittar, the Coalition now needs to be careful about how it allocates the budget within and among schools.
“With limited funds, the big question will be what the government's educational priorities are,” he said. “They need to be cautious about where the money goes and how that would be monitored and introduced."
State education minister and supporter of Gonski Adrian Piccoli agreed, saying that whatever funding model was put into place, it would need to support schools just as the prior school funding had.
“Whatever they call the funding scheme, whether it's Gonski or not, it's irrelevant,” he said. “What's important is that the money's spent the right way to ensure maximum outcomes for students."
