Chalk up the axing of the Investing in Our Schools Program as Mr Rudd's first broken promise. The Labor leader has started his so-called "education revolution" by cutting this $1.2 billion program for schools. Did Mr Rudd or any of his team admit during the election that the very popular Investing in Our Schools Program was destined for the chop? No. Despite releasing a savings plan and talking ad nauseam about his education priorities, Mr Rudd never indicated his real plans were to actually cut funding for schools.

 

The Investing in Our Schools Program filled a gap created by the failure of state governments to fund schools adequately. It provided both public and private schools with funds that could be spent on the things they most needed.

 

Fixing leaky toilets, installing air conditioning or repairing sporting equipment may not have sounded as sexy as a computer on every desk, but for many schools they are more urgent.

 

Of course, this program could and frequently was used to invest in new technology, like electronic whiteboards, data projection equipment and, yes, computers. But what was most important was that this program allowed those closest to schools to decide what was best for them. Principals, teachers, parents and students know whether they have enough computers to ensure their graduates can grasp the opportunities of the modern economy. 

 

They certainly know better than some bureaucrat in Canberra who will now, presumably, send them their entitlement of computers. Sadly, for some schools, it is a little hard to plug the hole in the roof with a hard drive or monitor.

 

Having axed this program and, in doing so, reduced funding to Australia's schools, maybe Mr Rudd can use the opportunity provided by the upcoming Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting to make his friends, the Labor Premiers, take seriously their responsibility to adequately fund our schools.  

 

Education should be on the cusp of a real revolution, not one of cheap rhetoric and program cuts delivered just two weeks after an election. We should be empowering school communities – educators, parents and students – with greater scope to respond with maximum flexibility to the opportunities of the increasingly dynamic society in which we live.

 

We've effectively been running and funding schools in much the same way for most of Australia's history.  On the whole, our education has served us well, helping to deliver the prosperity and opportunity most Australians enjoy today. 

 

But the traditional approach to schooling is not without its faults. Our education system has proven largely incapable of lifting young people from the areas of greatest social disadvantage out of the cycles of welfare dependency or criminal activity that trap too many. 

 

The current system has also failed to respond quickly enough to skills shortages, especially in areas of technical and trade education. And, as demonstrated again in a recent OECD report, it has seen our highest achievers slipping backwards in terms of international competitiveness in literacy and numeracy.

 

A real education revolution would seek to provide greater flexibility throughout the education system. It would provide parents with greater transferability in government funding to send their students to the school that most suited their needs. It would provide schools in the public and private sector an enhanced ability to specialise in the areas most relevant to their community, whether that be high technology, trades, special needs or advanced learning, to name but a few.

 

A real education revolution would empower parents, educators and students to help shape their own future. Sadly, it seems Mr Rudd's education revolution is little more than a nice sounding, market tested slogan based on old ideas that government knows best.