NSW Lib/Nats Support School Investment - Take Minister's Word on League Tables
24 June 2009
"The protocols agreed by MCEETYA [Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs ] Ministers on 12 June specifically state: ‘Governments will not publish simplistic league tables or rankings, and will put in place strategies to manage the risk that third parties may seek to produce such tables or rankings.'"
Education Minister Verity Firth, Hansard, 18 June 2009
The NSW Liberal/Nationals today demanded that NSW Labor ensure that legislation to enable National Partnership Agreement funds to flow to NSW would not lead to the publication of ‘league tables' of school performance, NSW Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell and Shadow Minister for Education Adrian Piccoli said today.
"Minister for Education Verity Firth MP has given her word to Parliament that this Bill will not enable publication of school 'league tables' in NSW," Mr O'Farrell said.
"Ms Firth could not have been clearer in her assurance to the Parliament that 'league tables' are not the secret agenda of this legislation," he said.
"School communities, teachers and the NSW Liberal/Nationals will hold her to her word. She and Labor will be exposed as liars if they do not deliver on this commitment.
"The NSW Liberal/Nationals will always support investment in our schools and claims to the contrary by the Rees Government are untruthful.
"This is a smokescreen from the Rees Government embarrassed by its own educational failures, including poor teacher retention rates and maintenance backlogs at public schools.
"The NSW Liberal/Nationals oppose the publication of schools 'league tables' that unfairly compare very diverse schools.
Mr Piccoli said many people in these communities don't actually have a choice about where their kids go to school - a 'league table' doesn't help them and can harm them through unfair 'naming and shaming'.
"While we support increased funding for public schools, State Labor deserves no credit for any of the Federal funding flowing from this Bill. It's all Canberra's doing without a cent being contributed by NSW Labor," he said.
"Nathan Rees needs to guarantee the people of NSW that not only will there be no 'league tables' but he won't use this money to cut his own expenditure on our kids' education," Mr Piccoli said.