Poor response to union survey of principals

The Minister for Education, Phil Gude, has made the following observations on a recent survey of school principals by the Australian Education Union:

• the union obtained only 287 responses, equal to only 10.3% of the 2,766 principals and assistant principals who work in Victoria's schools
• only 1,800 survey questionnaires were sent out
• thus, the views of 2479 principals and assistant principals were not represented in the survey results.

The Minister also made the following points:

• the president of the Union, Ms Bluett, has publicly said that "the sort of education our children receive is fantastic, and people should know that" (Steve Price program 3AW 28/1/99)
• the union lost 2.6% of its members between 1997 and 1998
• the State Government will spend a record level of funding on state education this year; some $4 billion.
• the Grants Commission assesesses standardised spending levels (levels of spending necessary to provide a standard of education equal to the national average) for the states and territories on education and Victoria spends 2.94% more than the standardised level. The ACT and South Australia are the only other states or territories to spend above the recommended level.
• the Government has just employed 1000 new teachers in primary schools and 350 in secondary schools and every teacher is being supplied with a laptop computer as a tool of trade.
• a $670-million maintenance backlog in 1992 has been reduced to $190 at the start of 1999.

The Minister also issued a table showing the Commonwealth Grants Commission assessment of actual expenditure as a proportion of standardised expenditure government school education:

(News Release, Office of the Minister for Education, February 8,1999)