Fact Sheet - COAG

The Council of Australian Governments met in Canberra on November 29, 2008 to negotiate new agreements covering funding for a range of areas including education.

 

Here is a brief summary of the outcomes in education:

 

·         A new agreement on education funding. The Commonwealth agreed with the states and territories on a new $42.4 billion National Education Agreement. The new agreement provides base funding for government and non-government schools over the next four years. Included is an additional $635 million funding for government primary schools which is designed to align funding rates between government primary and secondary schools. All up, public schools will receive $14 billion. ($28billion has been delivered to private schools through the Schools Assistance Bill).  As part of the agreement schools will be required to implement a national curriculum as well as supply for public release information on school performance, student test results, workforce issues, financial resources and the make-up of the student population.

 

·         Computers in Schools. The Federal Government agreed to provide $807 million in additional funding for the states and territories to help pay the extra costs associated with the Federal Government’s Computers in Schools program. This is money available to both public and private schools.

 

·         Disadvantaged Schools. New funding of $1.1 billion over five years will be provided to assist schools serving disadvantaged communities. This will assist approximately 1500 schools (public and private) –about 15 per cent of the total number. The Commonwealth funding is to be matched by state investment.

 

·         Literacy and Numeracy. The $540 million funding for this policy announcement was contained in the last federal budget. $150 million will be for reform initiatives and $350 million for schools that introduce measurable improvements in student literacy and numeracy. The type of programs this will cover is to be determined.

 

·         Quality Teaching. A new $550 million national partnership agreement, its stated intent is to improve teacher quality through “improved school leadership by principals and new approaches to teacher recruitment, retention and reward”. $50 million will be spent on professional development and support to help principals better manage schools. There will also be controversial measures designed to fast-track graduates into teaching,  national consistency in accreditation/certification of Accomplished and Leading teachers, national consistency in teacher registration and changes to teacher training at universities.

 

The implementation of these National Partnership agreements will require further negotiation between the Commonwealth and each State and Territory.