Federal Schools Minister Peter Garrett has once again pledged that no non-government school will lose a single dollar of funding despite a swag of independent research yesterday recommending massive changes to the way schools are resourced.
At the release of four independent research papers issued by the Gonski review of school funding yesterday, Mr Garrett provided an ''absolute guarantee'' to non-government schools that funding would be maintained even if the Howard government funding mechanism, which has delivered a windfall to the sector, was dismantled.
''The commitment for no school to lose a single dollar per student is an absolute guarantee,'' Mr Garrett said.
''We've provided funding certainty for the non-government school sector, and Mr Gonski's panel will provide us with recommendations about any transitional arrangements.''
In line with the various report findings, Mr Garrett agreed the existing system of school funding, which includes block grants by state and territory governments for the government sector and Commonwealth grants to the non-government system, lacked transparency.
''There is significant consensus in the education community that we need to have a funding model that is clearly understandable ... that is fair and that provides a level of consistency and a framework that everybody understands,'' he said.
''We don't have that at the moment.''
Businessman David Gonski said his review panel would not please everyone.
''The panel acknowledges that some may be concerned, when they read these reports, that certain aspects of school funding have not been dealt with and may not have been dealt with adequately in their view.''
He has until the end of the year to make his final recommendations.
The federal president of the Australian Education Union, Angelo Gavrielatos, said, ''This research clearly shows that the current funding model is failing schools and students and that not enough is being done to deliver the resources public schools need to lift overall performance and tackle disadvantage''.
''It shows the existing funding system is deepening inequality in the provision of education and the attainment of educational outcomes rather than helping to ameliorate it.''
The union welcomed the call for substantial long-term investment in schools with low socio-economic status students.
It also welcomed assertions in one of the reports that non-government schools were riding on the relative socio-economic advantage of their student body without necessarily adding value to their performance. The Independent Education Union condemned those assertions, however, saying the research incorrectly attributed academic selectivity as a fundamental enrolment gate-keeper for non-government schools.
Federal secretary Chris Watt said, ''In fact, the evidence is that these schools overwhelmingly enrol students primarily on the faith, ethnic or cultural preference of their family''.
''The paper discounts achievement of the non-government school sector, for example the Catholic system, in achieving program for international student assessment results that are of both high performing and not only above average equity, but higher in both measures than other Australian systems.''
This was despite Catholic schools having high numbers of low socio-economic status students.
''Not only that, the paper makes little or no attempt to examine any data other than PISA and National Assessment Program for Literacy and numeracy results,'' Mr Watt said.
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