Funding and Social Justice

After the Coalition won the election, it seems that the concern of decreasing education funding by many educators, parents, as well as students has been raise to a new level, despite Tony Abbott’s promise of maintaining the current education funding level next year. The main concern is focused on the influence on government schools across Australia. The concern of decreasing education funding is not a new topic, as there is a long existing imbalance of education resources distribution within Australia, including the imbalance between funding of government schools and private school. Because the majority funding of private schools comes from their high level of school fee, it is much harder for government school to compete. As a result, poor facilities are often found in government schools, as well as a lack of access to academic resources of schools in remote areas. This also cause the lack of education choices of students from low SES (socio-economic status) family backgrounds as it is impossible for them to pay for a private school.

 

Case in point, according to a recent article by the Sydney Morning Herald reporter Daniel Hurst, twice as many students at public schools come from low-income families as from high-income ones, a dramatic shift from 25 years ago when the make-up was more equal. The article gives a range of examples which reflects on how a lack of school funding could lead, under the funding plan of the labor government of that time (April 2013). One example mention is the article is a list issued by the Queensland government which indicated 102 schools could be worse off in real terms by 2023 under the reforms of education funding system, despite continued federal government assurances no one would lose out.

 

“...the subject matter of justice is the basic structure of society, or more exactly, the way in which social institutions ... distribute fundamental rights and duties and determine the distribution of advantages from social cooperation.” (Rawls, 1972) In terms of distributive justice, there simply just should not be any difference of the quality of education a student from low SES background can get from that of a student from high SES background, as the education right is one of the fundamental human rights. However, there is a clear difference between what the Australia federal government said about how it investigates the public education and what the reality is to most public schools. Our education system needs some actual ‘social justice act’ to minimize oblivious gap between the education quality and environment government schools and private schools deliver. Yet till this day, the funding plan of government is still failing to do that.

 

Reference:

 

RAWLS, J. (1972) A Theory of Justice (Oxford: Clarendon Press)

Hurst. D. (2013) Gonski: more public school students from low income families. Brisbane Times. Retrieved on 8/10/2013 from: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/gonski-more-public-school-students-from-low-income-families-20130410-2hlop.html#ixzz2hII1j4Qe