Labor's poor record of investment in education infrastructure

Labor's poor record of investment in education infrastructure means that a generation of NSW public school students will be forced to learn in substandard classrooms and schools.

Recent research by academic Adam Rorris, as reported in last week's Sydney Morning Herald, shows that Australian governments are spending about $1000 less for every student on school infrastructure than the US and Britain. This equates to a funding gap of $11.2 billion since 2002.

• In 2002 US schools received $1892 per student, British schools received $1013 a student, and Australian public schools received $453.
• In 2006 US schools received $1525 per student, British schools received $1791 a student, and Australian public schools received $659.

The NSW Labor Government's chronic underfunding of school maintenance and capital works had led to a general deterioration of all public schools across NSW.

Too many schools are struggling without proper funding for basic school maintenance and infrastructure.

Despite outrage from school communities and stakeholders, public school students are still forced to learn in schools and classrooms with crumbling buildings, threadbare carpets and leaky roofs.

With an estimated $50 million school maintenance backlog and over 4,000 demountable classrooms still in use across the State, the Rees Labor Government has a lot to do when it comes to adequate funding for school infrastructure.

Kevin Rudd's decision to axe the Howard Government's $1.2 billion Investing In Our Schools program, coupled with his poorly planned laptop policy means that the gap in school infrastructure funding will only worsen.

Under the Investing In Our Schools program, all schools could apply for grants to invest in small-scale infrastructure projects. To replace that program, Mr Rudd will instead give senior high schools a laptop.

Labor has a poor record in education. Unfortunately NSW public school students are the direct beneficiaries of the NSW Labor Government's appalling record of investment in education infrastructure.