Behind the attack on public schools — privatising education

Tom Pearson

With an election looming the Howard Government has launched a 
vicious attack on Australia's public schools. The Government is 
hell bent on privatising education and its tirade in the mass 
media is part of an ongoing program to try to discredit the 
public system. But the swift comeuppance PM Howard and his 
ministers received from supporters of public schools has 
signalled that education will be no soft target in an 
election.

The Government's attack included a rant against the Australian 
Education Union (AEU) with accusations that it was "wielding too 
much power". PM Howard also said public schools were "too 
politically correct and value-neutral", though he would not give 
details of just what he meant by this. Ditto Education Minister 
Brendan Nelson, who failed to define the "Australian values" 
which he said should be taught in schools.

A pointer may be Nelson's push for the flag to be flown in school 
grounds and for the singing of the national anthem in schools 
i.e. the promotion of nationalism. Howard cited two public 
schools that banned nativity plays at Christmas and another that 
cancelled an Anzac Day ceremony.

The Government also wants to rank the performance of public 
schools claiming that it gives parents "choice". Its real aim is 
to provide a basis to further slash funding to public schools.

The AEU said the Government's offensive was an attempt to 
distract attention from its disgraceful education funding 
policies. "The Howard Government has been starving the public 
education systems of funds for schools, TAFE and universities 
while giving billions of dollars to private schools", said AEU 
Federal Secretary Rob Durbridge.

"Some elite schools have had over 200 percent increases in 
funding from the Commonwealth". The Government is putting two 
thirds of federal funding for schools into the coffers of private 
schools, including elite schools such as Geelong Grammar ($4 
million) and Trinity Grammar ($5.5 million).

Public schools, with 70 percent of the students, receive $1.7 
billion, while private schools with 30 percent of the students 
receive $2.9 billion. The AEU warns that as a result the 
Government is entrenching inequalities and creating a two-tier 
education system.

"It appears that Mr Howard intends to pursue the privatisation of 
education in this country over the next four years", said Mr 
Durbridge.

As far as values are concerned, Howard picked out the banning of 
a religious play and some Anzac Day activities involving a few 
public schools. These examples are targeted at particular 
audiences. They reflect Howard's rejection of the secular nature 
of public schools, where multiculturalism, tolerance, anti-racist 
values prevail in both the acceptance of students and the 
curriculum.

Text books that raise environmental questions, for example 
greenhouse gases and the sinking of islands in the Pacific; 
lessons about other faiths than Christianity; the recognition of 
Indigenous Australians; and peace studies are all an abhorrence 
to Howard.

These are the values that Howard rejects when he says teachers in 
public schools enforce "political correctness" and teach "neutral 
values".

What Howard overlooks or does not realise is that there are also 
many private schools that do not put on nativity plays or salute 
the flag on ANZAC day. Many of them even use the same text books 
as public schools.

Priority Public, a community organisation promoting public 
education, makes the point that there is little public knowledge 
about what private schools actually do, as they are by and large 
allowed to keep their business private.

And as far as Nelson's claim that public schools are "hostile to 
Australia's heritage and values", Priority Public's Jane Caro 
points out that public schools "willingly and enthusiastically 
educate every child who comes to their door, regardless of race, 
religion, ability to pay fees or academic ability."

Furthermore, the majority of Indigenous students attend public 
schools, as do the majority of physically and intellectually 
disabled students. "Private schools, regardless of what values 
they may preach, educate the majority of our most advantaged 
students", said Jane Caro. "It is impossible for private schools 
to be 'egalitarian', as Howard says. Private schools, by their 
nature, are exclusive."

Instead it is public schools that accept their responsibility to 
be egalitarian — and perform small miracles, given the grossly 
unfair funding system both federal and state governments force on 
them.

Sickening nostalgia

The values that Howard, Nelson, et al, are harping about involve 
a sickening nostalgia, a yearning for the past, which is typical 
of reactionaries. In this case it is for the 1950s and 1960s, 
when public school students recited "I honour my God, I serve my 
Queen, I salute the flag."

Every year on Empire Day, as a primary school student, Howard 
would have saluted the British Empire and its conquests, and 
learnt how the Whites Christianised and "civilised" the natives 
of British colonies.

It was when at school assemblies the national anthem was sung and 
the flag was saluted; corporal punishment was policy; cooking 
classes were compulsory and exclusive for girls, woodwork and 
metalwork for boys; scripture classes were compulsory for all.

These are the things the President of the NSW Secondary 
Principals' Council, Chris Bonner, recalled on hearing Howard's 
"insult" that public schools were too "politically correct".

"No parent has expressed concerns about political correctness to 
me in my 30 years of teaching", said Mr Bonner. "The Prime 
Minister's own conservative world view doesn't reflect the world 
I've known as a principal. It's very strange."