The three most powerful public education groups in the ACT have called for an independent inquiry into how non-government schools are approved, saying recent decisions to allow three new private religious schools to set up in Belconnen, Molonglo and Gungahlin have exposed serious flaws in government processes.
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The Australian Education Union, Save Our Schools and ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Associations have written to Chief Minister Katy Gallagher and ACT Education Minister Joy Burch calling for a major overhaul of the legislation governing private school approvals.
They said there were ''gaps in the existing process that undermine public confidence in the integrity of the system''.
The groups want greater public notification and inspection rights around applications; formal guidelines for the Education Minister to consider applications; an appeals process for parties objecting to approvals; more specific standards to be met through applications; registration panels to address potential conflicts of interest; and greater stringency in allowing the Catholic Education Office to approve the opening of new Catholic schools.
''Given the current school funding arrangements whereby 55 per cent of total funding for ACT private schools is provided by the taxpayer we believe there should be a rigorous process for approving new private schools,'' the letter said.
''We believe the provision of private schools in the ACT should be well planned to avoid waste and duplication of facilities in both the government and private sectors.''
Last month Ms Gallagher said she was ''open to tightening up the decision-making process'' following a decision by Ms Burch to sign off on two new Christian schools - with Brindabella Christian College to establish a second campus in Charnwood and the Canberra Christian School to set up a campus in the new suburb of Molonglo.
At issue is the low demonstrated demand for the two schools.
The Brindabella Christian College will open just a kilometre from the former campus of Flynn Primary School - a government school closed amid outcry in 2006 because of falling enrolments. According to its application, Brindabella had indicative enrolments of only 31 to meet its initial enrolment plan of 75 by next year and 194 by 2018.
Canberra Christian School had indicative enrolments of only two students and these were from parents of children enrolled at its Mawson school. Yet, its new kindergarten-to-year-6 campus in Molonglo is planned for 480 students and there are only 32 K-6 enrolments now at Mawson.
A third new private school - the At Taqwa Islamic School approved for Gungahlin - had provided the government with evidence of enrolment interest from 180 families.
Ms Gallagher, during her time in 2004 as Education Minister, revised new school application processes under the ACT Education Act.
In 2008, then Education Minister Andrew Barr rejected an application for a new Christian school in West Belconnen because it provided ''no evidence to support the anticipated level of enrolments''.
The public education groups propose the government appoint an independent three-person committee to conduct the review, invite submissions from the public, consult with major stakeholders and make the report and its findings public.
Ms Burch approved the three new schools last December but there was no public disclosure of the decision.
Some of the factors that need to be considered in legislative reforms include whether total enrolments in existing schools would be significantly affected by a new school, its impact on the extent and nature of educational programs and cultural diversity in existing schools and whether a new school would result in unnecessary duplication and under-utilisation of facilities in a region.
Ms Gallagher's office said: ''At this stage there is no case for a formal independent review of the act'', but Ms Burch was seeking feedback on the Education Act ''around ways to improve the accessibility and transparency of the process of assessing and approving in-principle applications for new non-government schools''.