School sectors stake their claims in initial submissions to funding review

The debate around funding of independent schools is likely to dominate during the impending review of school funding, submissions to its draft terms of reference indicate. Despite talk that Australia has moved beyond the "old and tired" public-private divide in schooling, the inconvenient truth remains that public and private schools have "different purposes", according to the Australian Education Union. The submission from the AEU also said public schools are the only ones which are universally accessible for all. They have a moral and legal responsibility to enrol all students. "The review...