My School website without principal autonomy

My School website without principal autonomy a waste of time

The Coalition welcomes Labor's recent adoption of Coalition policy on transparency for parents to have information about schools performance, Christopher Pyne, Shadow Minister for Education said today.

"However the Minister for Education continues to dodge questions on whether she supports granting principals the autonomy they need to act on the results," Mr Pyne said.

"What is the point of publishing all this new information online if school principals are unable to take action appropriate for their school, such as dealing with underperforming staff?" he said.

Julia Gillard's call for parents to take matters in to their own hands is a joke if issues in schools can't be ironed out by the people responsible.

The publication of school reporting information goes hand in hand with increased autonomy for schools. Introducing one without the other is like getting into a boxing ring with one hand tied behind your back.

Ms Gillard recently welcomed a report commissioned by the former Government into increasing autonomy for teachers, but failed to explain what reforms she would insist on in the current National Partnerships negotiations.

If the schools stimulus debacle has taught the Government anything, it should be that the state government bureaucracies are entirely inadequate when it comes to knowing what school communities need and how to address the issues that arise.

"A full-time Education Minister would know that publishing school results without insisting on autonomy for principals will lead to frustrated parents and children at underperforming schools left without any recourse," Mr Pyne said.

November 11, 2009

Media contact:

Adam Howard

0400 414 833