AEU says previous Gonski plan better

AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe believes the Federal Budget 2017 confirms schools will be $22 billion worse off over the next 10 years than they would be under the previous Gonski agreements.

“This budget is hard on students and soft on big business. Schools can’t close student achievement gaps with cuts to funding – it’s that simple,” Haythorpe said.

“In 2018 and 2019 alone schools will miss out on $3.2 billion in extra resources which they would be getting under the current Gonski Agreements.

“If we go down this path, 84 per cent of public schools will be below the minimum Schooling Resource Standard by 2027 – this means children will be left behind.

“We know 268,000 students with disability are not being funded adequately to get support at school. This Budget has failed to address key funding gaps to deliver support at school for every student with disability.”