Media Releases
Report In Defence of Non-Government Schools
The freedom to choose a school, whether it is a government or non-government school, is a moral and social equity imperative, says a new report In Defence of Non-Government Schools published by the Centre for Independent Studies.
The report’s author Jennifer Buckingham refutes the common portrayal of all non-government schools as havens of the financial and academic elite.
Putting aside the issue of choice, without public funding for non-government schools there would be a lot of children without any educational options at all.
Non-government schools cater for children with a wide range of needs, including children who have been excluded from the public system and children living in the most remote areas of the country.
“Non-government schools form an essential part of the educational landscape because they have the ability to adapt to the needs of their students. Although they have to conform to numerous government standards they also have more flexibility”, Buckingham says.
“The only way to create funding equity and end the debate that pits sector against sector and shifts blame between governments is to base funding on the needs of children rather than characteristics of schools.”
Jennifer Buckingham is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies.
