Curb selective schools to redress the imbalance of disadvantaged students in public schools

A call to curb new selective schools and ask private schools to open their doors to less advantaged children has been made by former head of the federal Department of Education Michele Bruniges at a school summit in Sydney.

The call is just one in a series of recommendations to stem the disproportionate concentration of poor students in the public system. The recommendations are a result of new research supported by the Paul Ramsay Foundation.

The research highlights an alarming trend: growing concentrations of educational disadvantage in Australian schools. Since 2017, the percentage of schools where more than half of students experience significant socio-educational disadvantage has risen from 17% to 20%, with government schools disproportionately carrying this load.

Other policy reforms include:

• Adjusting school zoning to reduce postcode-driven inequality.
  Requiring schools receiving government funds to actively welcome students from disadvantaged
• Establishing new schools as comprehensive by default, rather than specialist or selective.
• Implementing clear mutual obligations for schools receiving taxpayer support, ensuring public benefit and national interest.

Dr Bruniges, an Industry Professor at the University of Technology Sydney, is among the growing crescendo of voices calling for a reform debate to tackle the growing inequality in Australia’s education system.