Minister for School Education Peter Garrett and Member for La Trobe Laura Smyth today visited Emerald Primary School to discuss the National Plan for School Improvement and the harmful effects of Victorian Government education cuts.

“The Federal Government has a plan that will benefit every school and every student in the Emerald community and across Victoria,” Mr Garrett said.

“Under our plan, funding for every school will rise every year, and the extra money will be spent on things we know will help improve results – like investing in great teachers, focusing on school improvement, and giving more power to local principals.

“We want Australia to be in the top five countries in the world in school performance by 2025. The Federal Government is prepared to invest substantial amounts of money over time to make this a reality, and we’re also asking State Governments to pay their fair share.”

During the visit Mr Garrett and Ms Smyth visited the new $3 million library constructed under the Building the Education Revolution program, and inspected the 24 solar panels purchased as a result of a funding grant under the Federal Government’s National Solar Schools Program.

They also met with students, parents and staff, as well as the assistant principal from nearby Kambrya College, to outline the Government’s plans for better schools.

Ms Smyth said schools in the La Trobe electorate are already benefiting from the Federal Government’s record investment in school education.

“We’ve delivered 118 new projects under the Building the Education Revolution program, including building or upgrading 20 classrooms, 28 new libraries, and 15 new multipurpose halls,” Ms Smyth said.

“More than 7000 computers are now in place in our high schools, thanks to our $2.4 billion Digital Education Revolution, and six schools are benefiting from extra funding and resources under our Smarter Schools National Partnerships.

“Three schools are participating in the Trade Training Centres in Schools program, providing industry-standard training within the school setting.

“The next step is to make sure every school in the region is getting enough money to do a great job, and that’s what our National Plan for School Improvement will help deliver.

“But for our plan to be implemented in Victoria we need the Baillieu Government to get on board and play their part, including investing their fair share of extra funding,’’ Ms Smyth said.

“Unfortunately what we’ve seen instead is a state government that doesn’t value education. They’ve shown that in their cuts to the VCAL program and to TAFE. They’ve also made cuts to the School Start Bonus that have put a dent in the budgets of many schools.

“Australia can’t afford to ignore the need for school improvement. Premier Baillieu and State Education Minister Martin Dixon need to stop playing politics with this issue and put the needs of Victorian families first by backing our plan for better schools.”