NSW Teachers Federation city organiser Theo Bougatsas said the federal government needed to implement the funding recommended by the Gonski review.
Almost a year since the Gonski Review was released, Blacktown Boys High School teachers have told the NSW Teacher’s Federation how the recommended investment recommended would benefit their students’ learning environment.
The review was an independent report which found Australia was investing too little in education in public schools.
Blacktown Boys High School teachers Chantell Fuller and James Witchard told federation representatives that they want the recommendations in the report to be carried out.
Watch a video of them explaining why below:
The report was released in February 2012 and recommended a $6.5billion investment in Australian schools.
The state government has since announced a $1.7billion cut to the NSW education budget.
NSW Teachers Federation city organiser Theo Bougatsas said the federal government needed to implement the funding recommended by the Gonski review as soon as possible.
He said it should not be a replacement for the funds cut.
‘‘We don’t want the Gonski money to represent water going into a leaky bucket,’’ he said.
‘‘There clearly has to be additional money.’’
Australian Education Union federal president, Angelo Gavrielatos, told a committee hearing to discuss legislating for the Gonski recommendations that almost 60percent of Australian Year 4 pupils were reported to be ‘somewhat affected’ by shortages in reading resources.
About 54 per cent were said to be affected by mathematics resource shortages and almost 70percent by science resource shortages.
He said schools without resource shortages reported significantly higher scores in mathematics and reading tests.