The Morrison Government’s failure to commit to funding for preschool beyond next year fails to provide certainty for families and the preschool sector.

In what has been an extraordinary year due to COVID-19, public schools have been ignored by the budget in what can only be perceived as an insult to teachers, parents and students that are struggling under the most trying conditions.

The Morrison Government’s federal budget of ‘Jobs, Jobs, Jobs’ has failed TAFE, the nation’s trusted public provider of vocational education.

A new independent report released today reveals Australian public schools will miss out on $19 billion in funding over the next four years.

Australia’s poor ranking in the latest OECD report on worldwide education indicators provides further evidence of the impact of government school funding policies on resource equity, staffing, student opportunity and outcomes.

Public school teachers spend on average $874 of their own money each year on essential school resources for their students, according to the latest “State of our Schools” survey.

The latest OECD report on worldwide education indicators has confirmed that public investment into Australia’s public education system is below the OECD average.

Three quarters of teachers say that NAPLAN is ineffective as a method of assessing students according to the latest “State of our Schools” survey.

A new Australian Education Union (AEU) submission to Federal Government has called for significant and ongoing investment into Australia’s public schools, preschools and TAFE system in October’s Federal Budget, to provide decades of equity, opportunity, security and future prosperity for all Australians.

The recommendations from today’s NAPLAN review provide little hope that the proposed new Australian National Standardised Assessment (ANSA) will be any better than the incredibly flawed and damaging NAPLAN system it is proposed to replace.

A new report demonstrating TAFE’s role in Australia’s decades-long economic success story has warned that failing to invest in the sector will destroy one of the primary engines of economic growth, prosperity and equity in the Australian economy.

The Productivity Commission National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development Review Interim Report into the future of skills and workforce development in Australia favours private providers, increasing contestability, student loans and vouchers and fundamentally fails to ensure TAFE’s future as the pre-eminent public provider of high-quality Vocational Education and Training (VET) across the nation.

The Morrison Government’s Economic and Fiscal Update highlights its failure to provide a single dollar of additional support for public schools during the COVID-19 crisis, and ignores the potential economic stimulus that investing in public education would bring for the nation.

Only by investing in TAFE can the Morrison Government provide the skills that Australia will need to create jobs, opportunities and recover from the economic costs of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than three-quarters of TAFE staff have considered leaving in the past three years, according to the results of a national survey released today.

New analysis of ACARA data by Trevor Cobbold from Save our Schools Australia shows that funding inequality has been exacerbated under the Morrison Government’s funding legislation and special deals for private schools. Private school funding over the past decade has grown up to nine times faster in real terms than public school funding.

A global report into progress on UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goal for education has found that more investment is required into professional development and training for Australian teachers in order to improve inclusive education for students with disability and to reduce student exclusion.

An independent report commissioned by the Australian Education Union (AEU) has revealed the persistent long-term gap in digital access, affordability and ability experienced by many public school students from disadvantaged circumstances.

The urgent restoration of the billions of dollars cut from TAFE funding must be central to the Morrison Government’s initial response to Australia’s Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector.

Today is Public Education Day - an occasion to recognise the central role that public schools, preschools and TAFEs play in strengthening the social, economic and cultural fabric of our society.

Restoration of the billions of dollars of funding cut from TAFE over the past decade must be at the heart of any Commonwealth response to the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector post-COVID-19.

A call to lock in five years of Commonwealth funding for guaranteed access to preschool is welcome recognition of the critical role that Early Childhood Education (ECE) has in providing equity of opportunity for all children to get the best start to their education.

Today’s announcement by the Morrison Government to deliver another $10 million special deal to private schools to improve COVID-19 hygiene measures ignores the urgent need to improve hygiene measures in public schools across the country.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese and Labor must resist any push to use the COVID-19 pandemic as a justification for abandoning its current progressive policy position on education.

The Federal Government’s concern for the education of vulnerable children during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need for equitable funding for all schools, now and into the future.