Public schools in crisis as funds go private
Three-quarters of Victorian private schools now receive more combined government funding than comparable public schools. The revelation, in a new report from the Australian Education Union (AEU), highlights the deepening crisis in our education system—one that leaves public schools starved of resources and struggling to meet students’ needs.
According to the union’s estimates, funding for private schools in the top 15 percent of socio-educational advantage (ICSEA 1100+) rose by more than 40 percent over the last decade.
While private schools continue to benefit from government largesse, public schools are being denied the resources they need to recruit and retain teachers and to address student needs. A staggering funding gap of up to $7,282 per student between private and public schools in the same ICSEA range and size group is shocking and indefensible.
“This unfair private school funding advantage translates into a school resourcing and staffing advantage and has fuelled a private school capital works boom, while at the same time denying public schools the recurrent funding needed to attract and retain teachers and to address the high level of student needs in the classroom”, AEU federal President Correna Haythorpe has pointed out.
The consequences of the funding disparity are felt most acutely by public school teachers, who are overworked, underpaid and increasingly burnt out. A recent article in the Herald Sun noted an exodus of Victorian teachers from the profession, many citing unbearable workloads, chronic staff shortages and aggressive behaviour from students and parents as reasons for leaving.
With more than 3,000 vacancies listed on the Victorian government’s jobs portal, it’s clear that the situation has reached a breaking point. Teachers work long unpaid hours to manage the demands of their schools. On average, Victorian teachers work more than ten hours of unpaid overtime each week. The workload is unsustainable and drives educators out of the profession, exacerbating the plague of staffing shortages.
The findings of a Monash University statewide survey of more than 8,000 teachers are similarly alarming. According to the study, only 30 percent of public school staff plan to remain in their roles until retirement, with mid-career teachers—the backbone of the profession—most likely to leave. The top reason for this exodus? Excessive workloads, compounded by inadequate pay and the increasing challenges posed by student behaviour and safety concerns.
The crisis was entirely avoidable. The Victorian and federal governments had ample opportunity to address the issues, but they have repeatedly prioritised elite private schools instead. Public funding for private schools has continued to rise over the past decade, reaching absurd levels. According to the AEU report, some of Victoria’s most privileged schools receive more than double the funding of disadvantaged public schools.
The funding inequality isn’t an accident; it’s a political choice. Governments, both Liberal and Labor, the ministers of which are predominantly private school graduates themselves, have repeatedly caved to the demands of the private school lobby, ensuring that the wealthiest institutions are looked after.
The Monash research paper shows that the need for substantial investment in the public school workforce—through salary increases, reduced workloads and enhanced flexibility—remains unmet. Meanwhile, private schools use their lavish government funding to build new theatres and swimming pools, while public schools struggle to staff our classrooms.
If the Victorian and federal governments were serious about ensuring quality education for all students, they would fully fund public schools to meet 100 percent of the Schooling Resource Standard. Anything less is a betrayal of the students and teachers who rely on the public system.
Reversing educational inequality requires a campaign beyond the classroom. Education workers’ unions can lead the way. For Every Child, the AEU national campaign for fully funded public schools, is a start, but it will take more than lobbying to win real change.
Victorian teachers and education staff enter negotiations for a new contract in 2025. If government funding does not meet the minimum requirements for full staffing and schooling resources, industrial action must be seriously considered.
This argument is made clearly in School Work Bulletin, a new publication written by rank-and-file activists in the AEU.
Our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions. It’s well past time governments took them seriously.
