MP Chris Hayes, the Federal Member for Fowler, is part of the campaign fighting for adequate education funding and making sure no Australian student is left behind.
The independent Gonski report on school funding found that there was a three year gap between the most well-off and poorest students in Australia, larger than the OECD average.
October 26 to November 1 has been declared as the National Gonski Week.
“Education is the best way of breaking the cycle of poverty and a needs based funding approach, as recommended in the Gonski report, is the way to close the growing gap between the students,’’ Mr Hayes said.
“The Federal Liberal Government’s decision to abandon the Gonski reform into education and impose a $30 billion cut to funding for schools will hurt students and jeopardise the future competitiveness of our nation.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“It will particularly hurt the most vulnerable, including students with disability, who need the extra attention and support,’’ Mr Hayes said.[/social_quote]
One of the stand-out recommendations in the Gonski report included extra funding for students with disabilities, including the $100 million per year More Support for Students with Disabilities program.
Research by Children with Disability Australia shows that one in four children with disability have been denied enrolment, almost one in five only attend school part-time, and 68 per cent of parents believed their children do not receive adequate support at school.
“Our children deserve the best start in life. This is the only way we can guarantee the future prosperity and global competitiveness for our nation.
“It is imperative that the government reverses its cruel cuts to schools which disregard the needs of some of the most disadvantaged young people in our community”, Mr Hayes said.
