Fed: Howard defends funding to independent schools

AAP General News (Australia)
08-03-2000
Fed: Howard defends funding to independent schools

CANBERRA, Aug 3 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard today defended government funding
to private schools as a way of providing choice in education.

A study released yesterday by the right-wing Centre for Independent Studies found private
schools were not elitist and did not not drain funding from the public school system.

Mr Howard said although he had not seen the full report, the conclusions of the study
were largely correct.

"What you need in the education system is choice, and the growth sector in the independent
area are not the so-called wealthy schools," he told Adelaide Radio 5DN.

"There aren't, incidentally, too many wealthy schools.

"Even the ones with very high fees ... even those schools, many of the parents there
are working very hard and making big additional sacrifices to send their children through
them."

Mr Howard said the biggest growth sector in private education was low-fee schools,
such as those springing up across Sydney's west.

"For anybody to suggest that they are privileged or wealthy is plainly ridiculous," he said.

"What people want is more choice and I'm in favour of choice.

"People should have choice and if they think an independent school better suits the
needs of their child, they have the right to send that child to the independent school."

The Centre for Independent Studies' paper also said it was unfair the parents of students
in independent schools were forced to pay twice for education, propping up the public
system through taxes and the private system through fees.

Private schools delivered better outcomes in terms of Higher School Certificate achievement
and university entrance levels, it said, calling on public schools to emulate their more
successful private counterparts.

Commenting on Labor's commitment to create education priority funding zones in less
wealthy areas, Mr Howard said most parents just wanted to see basic standards for literacy
and numeracy.

"The parents I talk to are very interested in those sorts of things," he said.

AAP rft/daw/mk

KEYWORD: SCHOOLS HOWARD

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