The Wire

Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham’s suggestion earlier this week that some schools, particularly elite private schools, may have their funding cut to ensure a fairer education system provoked a backlash from the Independent sector.

Independent Schools Council of Australia executive director Colette Colman said pitting public and private schools against each other isn’t helpful and is based on a misunderstanding of how the independent school system works.

But research shows there are a range of anomalies in the funding system that entrench disadvantage and produce unexpected outcomes that need to be addressed.