W AUS ALl A
PRIME MINISTER
FOR MEDIA MONDAY, 5 MAY, 1980
ADDRESS TO SECOND NATIONAL CATHOLIC
EDUCATION CONFERENCE, A. N. U.
I am pleased indeed to be invited to open this conference,
particularly-as I recall your last national gathering
of this kind in 1972, when I was then Minister for
Education and Science.
That first conference took place against what was a fairly
difficult background. For three quarters of a century freedom
in education and the rights of church schools, and those who
attended them, had been largely ignored. As a result, the
commitment of Australian families to an education based on
their religious faith provoked bitterncss, sacrifice, and
a very great deal of hard work.
I well recall the education environment at the beginning
of the 1970s. It was a time, or had been a time, through
he 50s and 60s, of great econc-mc expansion. Jobs were
-available for those who wanted them. Because of this
economic environment, insufficient attention was paid to the
educational explosion that was taking place at the same time.
Retention rates in State, indeed in all secondary schools,
had been rising rapidly through the 50s and 60s. Costs of
education were also increasing and the Catholic system was
becoming more reliant on lay teachers, providing an
additional cost burden for the Catholic system.
Moreover, the economic climate enabled greater resources to
go to Government-schools, thereby increasing the physical
and resource pressures that again, were being exerted on
large sections of the independent system.
These pressures threatened the very future of many
independent schools. It was a critical time for education,
for independent schools and also for Government.
We faced a question of whether this country, rich in diversity,
was also to be served by diversity in education. Whether a
right existed for those with particular religious beliefs to
establish their own schools, or whether all education was to
be secular and to be run by the State. / 2
MRS L1j, 111vr,, 5, r0A46
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~ As Minister then, I believed strongly that freedom, independence
and choice in education were essential and the claims that
Governments should greatly improve their assistance to private
schools had to be answered.
I do not doubt that well-endowed schools would have survived,
no matter what the circumstances. But they are only a small
part of the independent system.
The-parish schools-* pla-ced--increai-ng burdens upon Australian
families to-pay for an education based significantly on their
commitment to a faith.
* We should never lose sight I believe, in this c'ountry, of the
great sacrifice made down through the years by those who believed,.-
often-again-st significant odds, in the value and in the very
exiteneof religious education..-.
-Let us. dismiss now the fallacy that religious education is
synonymous with wealth; that an endorsement of the values
of religious education is an endorsement of the advantages of
wealth. Many Australian families whose incomes are very low make great
sacrifices, are prepared to pursue. difficult'courses, because
of their faith and because of their religious beliefs.
Pleasingly, since that first conference, new and important
developments have taken place within the Catholic education
system; as Governments have abandoned their neglect of
private schools and initiated an active programme to restore
equality and opportunity in education.
From initial support for building programmes to the per capita
grants, and now through increased support based on a right to
education, Governments have demonstrated their recognition of
commitment to a dual system of. education in Australia. It is
worth noting that all Governments and all political parties,
as I understand it, share in that commitment.
My interest in and support for Catholic education is founded
on its indispensable contribution, not only to education itself
in Australia, but also to the moral values of Australian society.
I am convinced that Government has an important role to play in
reducing the inequalities in educational resources and
* opportunities for all children in all schools. To do otherwise
would be to undermine educational fairness and justice. To allow
that to happen would be harmful to the-. vitality and potential
growth of the entire community.
Funds will co ntinue to be made available from the Commonwealth
Bud get to meet the needs of both Government and of non-Government
schools.; We shall continue to co-operate with the States, to
make sure that all Australian children receive an education of
the highest possible quality.
3-
The Commonwealth is now the major source of public funds
-for non-Government schools and currently provides about
two-thirds of. their total public expenditure. But our
commitment goes beyond the provision of funds. It is our
firm belief that the continued existence of the independent
school system in several ways improves the quality of all
Australian-education.
In the first place, it diversifies the educational opportunities,
especially for those who want spiritual values to be part of
the educational process. This leads to a strengthening of
a community's social and moral fabric.
Just as importantly, Government support-of independent schools
underscores its commitment to freedom of choice in education,
and the right of parents to educate their children as they
believe right and proper.
My colleague, the Minister for Education, Wal Fife, will
I am sure be speaking in more detail about the nature of our
involvement in and contribution to non-Government schools,
including this most important componentE; the Catholic system.
* In the meantime, I note that the theme of this conference deals
with commitments for the 1980s. Clearly, the Catholic education
sys. tem, combining application to scholarship with a full regard
for the importance of morality and traditional values, already
accepts a commitment which will be of increasing significance
in the decades ahead.
The last two or three decades have seen far-reaching and sweeping
change in the Australian educational system. In the first place,.
equality of opportunity rightly came to the forefront of
educational objectives. This new emphasis on the importance of
education was welcome. However, against this, methods of teaching
did not always keep pace with the broadening of educational
opportunity. Too many people for a while saw education as
an end in itself, without due regard for its purpose, its
content or its function. The extension of educational
opportunities seemed to breed an acceptance of any sort of
education, without consideration for what might be the best
kind of education. This led to what some would call educational
experimentation, in which needs of students were perhaps
unwittingly sacrificed in a desire for change. Most teachers
I am certain, approached the widening opportunities in education
with dedication, with commitment, and with a very real concern.
But at the same time, there was an increasing community anxiety
that some new courses and untried methods were coming into
operation against growing evidence that they did not advance
the welfare of their students. At the same time as teaching
methods were changing, the emphasis on effort, on -authority, and
on rules, all suffered erosion.
But the community also viewed wi th growing disapproval the fact that new
theories about what education meant were being coupled with
a dwindling regard for excellence in educational achievement. / 14
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We were living in buoyant economic times. This hid the
* fact-that problems were being built into the education
of-many Australian school children. Because school leavers
could, by and large, obtain work without too much difficulty,
because ' employers ware th~ ri 16ss discriminating thAn they
now are,-the role of education in securing rewarding-and
satisfying work was not well understood. However, as
employment became morle difficult for sichool'leavers,
education was increasingly put under the microscope and
in-many instances it has been found wanting.
* When this new perception of education is coupled with the
favourable reduction in pupil-teacher ratios, the realisation
that expenditure in primary and secondary education had
risen phenomenally, community concern about the direction
of education gathered momentum, and so well it might.
In the current financial year, Commnonwealth and State
Government expenditure on schools will approach $ 4,000 million,
of which our share approaches some $ 800 million. Yet these
figures do not include the substantial sums expended each
year on tertiary education, most of which is borne by the
Commonwealth Government. There is a further example of the
massive escalation in expenditure; -the cost of maintaining
children at a Government primary school rose from nearly
$ 650 seven or eight years ago to nearly $ 1,000 in 1977-78.
I have no doiubt it is noticably higher at-the present time.
The increase in real terms is about 50 per cent. At the
secondary level, the cost rose from just over $ 1,100 in
.1972-73, to between $ 1,500 and $ 1,600 in 1977-78. An increase
in real terms of nearly 40 per cent.
Against that background, survival and strength of independent
schools I believe became all the more necessary in the
perception of many people, because the additional resources
going to Government schools had not been seen to be parallel
with an increase and betterment in the quality of education
* that was in fact provided.
Parents responded to the diversity in choice of our dual
education system, and many parents took increasing advantage,
often again at significant sacrifice of the processes at
work in private education and in church schools.
It is not often understood that the resources available to
Government schools are on average far in excess of those
available to the great bulk of private schools. In fact, the
resource targets set by the Schools Commission have been so
rapidly achieved by Government schools that they now average
out very high on a scale established by the Schools Commission
for measuring that function. If we look at independent schools,
we find that 90 per cent of all primary school students and
nearly 56 per cent of secondary students in the non-Government
sector, often schools which are rated on their resources, as
being near the bottom of the scale. Funds now provided by
Government have only brought us therefore to the beginnings of the
move to educational equality at least so far as the provision
of resources goes.
5
There is a fair way to go before we achieve equality
in educational resources for all Australian schoQl children.
There are two ways of guaranteeing Government support in the
drive towards equal opportunity for children in non-Government
schools. I understand that this is one of the matters that
will be discussed amongst you in the hours, or the days,
ahead. One way of course, is to make per capita grants on
the basis of children at schools, on the basis of a right to
a-share -in Government funds in-the educational process. The
other is to provide for schools on the basis of need. I would
suggest that if funds were provided only on the basis of need,
something important in terms of equality of education is lost.
o----Because it--does not-therefore accept-a basic. right for
Governments to support the education of all children in all
schools.
What we in fact do of course is based on both principles. Some
pat of support is based on a basis of-right, on a per capita
basis, but then additional funds are . made available with
*. schools with lesser resources and are in need of greater help.
While few people today would dispute the right of church
schools to their share of public funds, or the validity of
our objective to see that for the poorer schools that share
should be increased, some old ' resentments unfortunately still
remain to Commonwealth or the. State Govarnment funding, causingproblems
not only for Governments but also for the education
system as a whole.
I mentioned over the weekend, in 1973 one group took the
legitimate, but as I believe the extreme course cf bringing the
matter of Government aid to non-Government schools before
theHigh Court.. -The very fact that the case arose has given
concern in some-quarters. The Government, like all litigants,
is hopeful of winning. But if that does not prove to be so,
we will still remain unshaken in our cowm itment to our
policies. We believe them to be important for Australia, for
Australian education, and for Australian youth. We know
they are vital for the survival of independent schools generally.
I mentioned over the weekend that we would do what we could
within the law to enable our policies to be pursued. I also
mentioned that as a last resort, if necessary, we would seek
a constitutional amendment to enable just and proper support
to be given to religious and independent schools. I think we
would all hope that we did not have to take that course. We
would all hope that what is now done would be found to be
proper and within the Constitution. If it were not so, the
nature of any judgement would obviously have to be looked at
very closely to see what was the best way of overcoming a
problem. But if we were left with rules that denied the capacity
of the Commonwealth to provide support to independent schools,
we would immediately have a most serious and difficult crisis
confronting all Australian education. There is no point in us
not being prepared to see that,-examine it, and see what would
have to be done about it. / 6
6-
What I wanted to make quite plain was that if that
unfortunate circumstance did arise, our commitment to
support for independent schools would remain unshaken and
determined. Since all Governments, and as I believe all political parties,
have a common view and a shared view, I would hope that
the means of overcoming the problem could be achieved without
arousing once again the difficulties and the bitterness
that were caused by this particular debate in past years.
We enter the 198' Os with increasing enrolments . in
the private school system, and especially in Catholic schools,
-indicating that what goes on in your schools is being perceived
by the community as providing an adequate response to the
demands of a modern industrial society and the new educational
requirements. The second community response to the educational problems of
the last two decades is the demand for a return to emphasis
in education on traditional skills, which in some schools
had been put aside. Attention is being focussed on the
capacity of schools to provide competence -in literacy and
numeracy, while developing at the same time attitudes that
enable a student to enter the-adult world with confidence, and
pride in himself and his capacities.
These-qualities are a necessary foundation for all careers, in
all walks of life. But there is still a growing concern that
what students do as part of the educational process ought to
be assessed against fair and tesl-Lig criteria. That necessarily
involves measurement and examination of effort. That is not
to say that measurement is more important than any other aspect
of the learning process. But we need to get examinations into
perspective in education, rather than pretend that they have
no part in what goes on. Admittedly, some growth and
development is easily measured. Other growth is harder to
measure, maybe sometimes even impossible to measure. But to
place all store in quick, visibly measured improvement can
distort the learning task. The measurement of achievement
is important because young people seek achievement from their
educational experiences.
Nonetheless, there are critics of examinations who base their
criticism on the fact that examinations create pressure. At
certain levels, and for certain students, pressure in education
applied too early in life can have negative effects. But one
of the things that the education process needs to do is to
teach people to perform through pressure and gradually expose
them to stresses that would be placed, on them when they
leave school.
The whole learning process, of which examns are a necessary part
as I believe, needs to be designed to enable people to respond
and work well under difficult and challenging circumstances.
It needs to test students so that their own levels of performance
are understood by them, and their capacities are developed as
well and as far as possible. / 7
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The Williams Report has drawn attention to-many of the
problems faced-in the aftermath of the change of direction
in education that took place over the last two to three
decades. It found that a disturbingly high proportion of
leavers had not achieved a standard of literacy and numeracy
that would enable them to make a satisfactory transition from
school to work. Evidence presented to the committee, for
example,' by the Institute of Personnel-Management, expressed
-deep--concern that after years of primary and secondary
schooling,--and-vast expenditure on education, many school
leavers were inadequately equipped with the essential--skills
*. of literacy, oral fluency, and numneracy. The -Institute
-estimated that up-to 15 per. cent of school leavers were not
able-to -read an employment advertisement, or complete a simple---
application form. Independent studies commissioned by the
Committee found that 15 per cent of 14 year olds were deficient
in-number work and 50 per cent of 14 year olds could not write
-a satisfactory letter of application for employment.
: These-are regrettable legacies of the past, requiring
re-assessment of the aims, the objectives, and the methods
of education.
In particular, they highlight the disturbing reality that
mqny young people have passed through school almost-totally
unsuited to the demands of modern society and to the workforce
of which they would want to be a part.
However, to those who speak about a lost generation,. the
problem needs to be placed very much in perspective. Of the
250,000 young Australian who left school last year, some
60,000 continued with education in tertiary institutions.:
A further 140,000 found employment with relatively little
difficulty, 40,000 of these obtaining apprenticeships which
would equip them with valuable vocational skills.
A further 10,' 000 were unavailable for study or for employment.
That is hardly the picture of a lost generation. But it is
true that about 40,000 young people failed to obtain full-time
employment in the way the community which they, their parents
and schools would have wanted.
-In August of 1979,. the highest percentage rates of unemployment
we know were amongst young school leavers in the 15 to 16 year
old group. It is to these people that the system has failed
and the Government's primary concern in its programme is for
people like these who leave school each year with difficult
employment prospects.
The Government's programmes arc also directed at those students
still at school who are likely to be at risk when it comes
their time to leave.
Late last year the then Minister for Education announced a
comprehensive policy on transition from school to work, which
aims to upgrade skills, attitudes and employment prospects for
young people. Our commitment is that in this year we have made
available about $ 25 million for this important programme, with
a significant commitment over a five year period.
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Our hope is that State Governments will join with us
in this programme and themselves contribute to it.
So far, we have had good co-operation from each of the
States in starting this initiative. Nonetheless, in a
sense these measures attack the problem only-after it
has developed.* A good argument could be construed to say
that if schools were all doing the job they need to do and
ought to be doing, this new programme of transition from
school to work would in fact not be necessary. In a sense,
the very fact that these programmes are needed indicate
the failure of the school system to a significant number
of young Australians.
What in-essence has happened is that many young Australians
have paid the price of an insufficient balance between formal
education and practical training. School courses should be
wide enough to respond to people with different talents and
different inclinations. One of the failures of past years
has been that too many people, too many schools, have
concentrated on the academic scene. They have had the view
that those with academic talents were good, could progress, that
those without were not given the different kind of attention
and care and concern that they need just as much as those with
an academic bent of mind.
In the days when people were saying t-hat secondary schooling
was all about academic training, they were forgetting that there
are other students with other talents, with other inclinations,
that may be just as useful, just as constructive, just as
necessary and. sometimes more necessary in Australian society,
but which were not given the attLntion and concern in the
school system. I think, again, these are a part of the
group that the school systems have failed.
Our education system needs to be disciplined enough, diverse
enough, and responsive enough to find for each student something
that that student can do well, s-omething which will give
each student satisfaction, and through this satisfaction
the confidence to face the adult world with a faith in his or
her own ability. If schools do not achieve that for all their
students, I look upon that not as a failure for the student,
but as a failure for the school itself.
In meeting these requirements, the Catholic education system
is an effective partner with the Commonwealth, not only in the
direct education of many young Australians, but also through
a series of special activities and special initiatives.
For some years Catholic schools have participated in joint
programmes of the Sdhools Commission which aimed to help those
recognised as having particularly pressing education needs, such
as those with specific physical and mental handicaps. It has
also been pleasing to note the enthusiasm with which the
Catholic school system have indicated their willingness to
participate in 1980 in the Government school to work transition
policy. These are encouraging. signs.
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Increasingly education is being seen, not just as a preparation
for life, but as a large part of life itself. It must
facilitate understanding of and adjustment to inescapable
and sometimes accelerating and challenging changes.
The Government will continue to make its contribution, but
the real challenge must always be one for people most
intimately involved in the educational process:. . parents,
teachers, staff and students. But above all, young people need
* to avail themselves of the opportunities that lie ahead of them.
Many of these wi-1-l derive from the prospects for the Australian
economy over the whole of the 19.80s. And of all1 the countries
around the world, I know.-of no-country with better prospects
than this.
Over the last twelve months, to March of this year, 180,000
new jobs have been created in Australia. That is a better year
than any for. a very long while. That gives cause for encouragement
in the future. Further, by June of 1980, over half a million
Australians, many of them young Australians, will have been
helped by the various training programmes that-the Commonwealth
has introduced to help give people the kind of jobs skills and
experience which is necessary to gain satisfying and rewarding
work. Young people must be-encouraged to work at these opportunties
and to appreciate that by doing so, they face a future in which
they can be truly free;-free for-work and for leisure, for
being something and well as doing something.
It is the hope of us all in the 1980s that education will teach
our youth a sense of worth and dignity of others, to feel
their debt to others, to have commitments, commitments to causes
and concerns they have thought about and made their own.
We want our young people, because they owe something to the
world, to be prepared for a life of service to something
beyond themselves.
I am sure this conference will provide a stimulating forum
for discussion of the means whereby such education goals of the
can be sustained and realised. * I congratulate you all on
the contribution you have made to the educational development
of Australia, and I welcome your commitment to the chall~ enge of
the decade ahead. I will have pleas ' ure in seeing what conclusions
you come to over the next two or three or four days. It is my
very great pleasure indeed, to declare open this Second
National Catholic Education Conference. 000---