Victorian school students are among the lowest funded in the country, according to an article in today’s Age – and funding for private schools is growing faster than for government schools.
According to the article, “A new Productivity Commission report finds federal and state funding per student in Victorian non-government schools grew 31 per cent over the 10 years to 2021. Funding per student in Victorian state schools grew by 27.1 per cent over the same period.”
While overall government funding has increased significantly over the past decade, “at $17,174 per student, Victorian students are the second-lowest funded in the country, only ahead of South Australian students.”
The article quotes education expert Dr Sue Thomson, who has called on governments to fully fund all state schools.
“My greatest hope is that they do something about that because we’ll never even look at equity until we look at equal funding,” she said.