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Education Minister attacks inaccurate ALP radio ad

Education Minister Phil Gude has said the ALP radio ad that claims that children would be dumped from Self Governing Schools was misleading and an attempt to scare parents.

"No child will be disadvantaged as a result of self governance. In fact the opposite is true. Self-Governing Schools are about improving educational standards for students by providing even greater choice in the state school system," Mr Gude said.

Mr Gude also condemned Labor’s assertion that the Government was privatising education.

"Self Governing Schools are very much a part of the state school system and always will be. Under no circumstance will a Coalition Government privatise our outstanding school system.

"We will, however, continue to offer students and their parents greater choice to meet the needs of each individual student.

The Self-Governing Schools Act sets out precisely the right of all students to a free and secular education and the right to attend their local school.

The Self-Governing Schools Legislation by law requires that they:

• Offer free and secular education.
• Accept all students from within their catchment area who wish to attend.
• Receive standard funding from the Department of Education through the School Global Budget and remain accountable to the Minister for Education.
• Offer the curriculum contained in Victoria's Curriculum and Standards Framework (CSF) and the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE).
• Present students for assessment under the Learning Assessment Project (LAP) and the Victorian Student Achievement Monitor (VSAM).

Mr Gude said Self-Governing Schools provided parents and school communities with a greater say in the education of their children.

"Self-Governing Schools offer greater powers to school councils, of which a majority of members are parents.

"The ALP and the unions are the only ones who believe parents aren’t capable of making decisions about the education of their own children," Mr Gude said.

(News Release, Office of the Minister for Education, 3 September 1999)