CONSERVATIVES BACK TO BASICS EDUCATION
Education Key Points
- We believe in a ‘back to basics’ approach to education.
- We believe in the importance of reading, writing and mathematics as the foundation of learning.
- We need to make our school curricula fit for purpose for higher student achievement.
- We believe in the importance of children understanding the values of Australian, Western, Christian culture.
- We will removal all political agendas and woke indoctrination from the school curriculum.
Back to Basics Approach
The early years of education should concentrate on the basics of reading, writing and mathematics. These are the foundations for a child’s learning career. We understand the value of unstructured, voluntary play, particularly outdoors, in developing healthy well-adjusted and resilient young people.
Secondary education should focus on developing a child’s fact-based knowledge, critical thinking and conceptual and analytical skills, whilst preparing them for a productive adulthood. We need to free up resources, have better cost structures and appropriately invest in our education system rewarding teachers for their performance.
Parents Rights
We want parents to have genuine choice in the school their children attend. Parents rights must be respected and upheld and they must be advised of all matters that affect their children. We will significantly raise educational standards and give parents more say in their child’s education.
Teachers and Remuneration
We need to actively increase the number of teachers by another 10,000 to reduce the teacher pupil ratio, to improve teaching and learning for the students. If you want the best teachers then you have to remunerate them accordingly. Victorian teachers who currently are the lowest paid of all Australian teachers, need to have the basic annual salary increased from the current figure of $79,589 to $100,000. In addition, a performance bonus needs to be introduced to reward those teachers whose teaching skills achieve the most positive outcomes, such as the number of pupils who sit and pass the VCE. Pupils that are educated to a high standard, that makes them the best in State, in sporting, musical, acting, arts, sciences subjects etc, where they achieve great success, like representing Australia at an event, which they win, should be reflected in the bonus paid to those teachers who helped the student to attain this achievement. We will budget for additional $4 billion to the education budget to fulfill the pay rises and bonuses. By investing in education today, we will reap the rewards in the future.
Preschool Care
All schools will provide creche and preschool care, which will open at 7.00am thus enabling parents to drop all children off at a safe environment before going to work. This will also end the need for expensive day care services. It will also mean that the children go to a preschool which they will also eventually attend for their main school. This will take away the fear surrounding school.
As schools and day care will stay open until 6.00pm, all parents can leave work and pick up their children after work.
By providing healthy school breakfasts and lunches, we will hopefully end obesity, because children will only be fed healthy and nutritious meals instead of junk means. The long-term effect will see a reduction in people needing unnecessary health care in the future.
School Education
Completely change the traditional method of schooling to a more needs-based approach. School days should be Monday to Friday 7.00am to 6.00pm. School days should run along the lines of normal working days with only standard public holidays being available.
Schools should open at 7.00pm for all children, the school should provide a healthy and balanced breakfast between the hours of 7.00am to 8.00am. The advantages are that parents can drop their children off on the way to work, they do not need to worry about breakfast as the school will provide it, the parents only need to contribute $2 for breakfast and $3 for lunch making $25 per week to contribute towards the cost of food. The school will also ensure dental hygiene after breakfast and lunch.
Lessons will commence at 8.00am and continue until 12.00 noon for a one-hour lunch break. All academic studies will be undertaken during the four hours in the morning. Following the one-hour lunch break, studies will consist of sports, music and arts until 5.00pm. From 5.00pm to 6.00pm students will read books of their choice, pending collection by their parents.
Students will learn that school and work are not different. There will be no more homework, as this is counter-productive, with those students not preferring to do homework, simply rushing it, which serves no benefit.
Any school holidays, which will be greatly reduced, will be spent at school, such as Christmas holidays, children will attend school, not to study, but to play games and have fun in a controlled environment. This means that parents do not need to worry about day care or taking time off work.
School Curriculum
The following subjects must be taught in school
- Manners, Etiquette, Respect.
- 3Rs, Reading, Writing, Arithmetic.
- History, Geography, English, Mathematics, Economics, Legal Studies, Finance & Debt, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Humanities, Arts & Craft, Music, Drama, Languages, Religious Education.
- Religious education will include instilling the Ten Commandments, Avoiding the Seven Deadly Sins and Bestowing the Seven Virtues. A child will be taught about all religions to give them a good understanding about the different religious practices.
- Sport, including Athletics, Swimming, Karate, Judo, Cricket, Football, Rugby and Tennis.
- Scouts, Military Cadet Training, First Aid and basic Survival Training.
- Driving a Car Basics and Road Rules Principles.
Christian Values
We need to re-engage with our traditional Christian values. Christian values, although based upon the Christian religion and its teachings, are more than just the Christian religion. Loving thy neighbour is not just a religious value, but a concept that was born out of Christian beliefs. Today an old person can die in their own home and no one notices. Old people are left to fend for themselves, with little care or thought from their neighbours. And yet fifty years ago this was not the case; neighbours looked out for each other, old people had their gardens attended to and meals were cooked and shared, old people did not die alone and unnoticed. This is because society had Christian values and practiced them. Being kind, considerate, respectful and responsible were the norms of the day, unlike today where the opposite occurs. It is no coincidence, that with the decline of Christianity, its teaching and values, there has been a collapse in western society and how we treat and interact with one another.
Western Values
We respect and acknowledge the importance of Western civilisation in the development of Australia and the establishment of our civil society. Every Australian child must know what underpins our enviable way of life. Western values must be upheld and valued by all in society. Exposure to Western literature, music, art, customs, culture, history is essential for any child growing up in Australia.
Higher Education
Universities must be made financially accountable for the educational outcomes they provide. They have an obligation to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to secure jobs in the field of their study. We support increased choice and competition in the higher education market. We will abolish the hex programme for all university students.
Vocational Skills and Training Education
We support vocational education programmes, that are successful in getting young people into employment. We support changes to the apprenticeship programmes, including allowing industry to play a larger and more pivotal role in giving and tailoring courses at vocational institutions. We want to better align training with the needs of apprentices, for their future careers, industry and the Australian economy. We support treating apprentices and trainees as students and the principle of income supplementation whilst training to provide a supportive earning and learning environment.
Hex
Hex is a bane for any student that wishes to acquire a university education. If someone wants to become a doctor of medicine the annual hex fee is approximately $89,894 with a total course cost of $417,616. This is a daunting prospect for anyone, especially if you are poor. The cost will be there regardless of whether you pass or fail, so a poor person, who aspires to be a doctor has to consider carefully, what happens if it does not go to plan, they could be left with a sizeable debt, that will be difficult to repay. As conservatives, we believe in the next generation and want them to be the best they can be and to strive for a better life. A good education can make all the difference for someone’s prospects. Also, we need the next generation of doctors, engineers and scientists to ensure the future of our country. We therefore believe that hex should be abolished, but there are two schools of thought, as follows.
OPTION 1 ABOLISH HEX
We can abolish hex and simply have the state pay for the university student’s education costs, just like we do for all their prior education. This option will encourage every student to study for a subject, even if they are not confident of success. Naturally students will study their chosen subject, but sometimes students study a second subject, one that they might not be confident in passing. As such, they may not study the second subject in fear of being lumbered with a hex debt. The down side to abolishing hex is, that students may study subjects for which they are not suited for or they drop out part way through the course. Although this will not be the norm, it is a possibility that it could happen, hence option 2.
OPTION 2 HEX CHARGED ON FAILURE RATE
In order to keep students focused on their studies, we could keep the hex as a deterrent against students dropping out. So, hex fees would be charged based upon your marks. So, if a student gets 90 or higher then the hex fee is waived 100%. The hex payable is then calculated on a sliding scale based upon your percentage pass mark. As every mark counts, it will encourage students to study harder to minimise their hex repayments.
90-100% No Payment
85-90% 5% of Hex
80-85% 10%
75-80% 15%
70-75% 20%
65-70% 25%
60-65% 30%
55-60% 35%
50-55% 40%
Under 50% 100%
We could start by abolishing hex, but if bad practices start to develop, where students are not studying hard enough, then we could introduce the scaled charging.
Ending Political and Ideological Indoctrination
Educational institutions are now used to channel and promote political propaganda and Ideological Indoctrination on our children (such as the discredited ‘Safe Schools’ and ‘Respectful Relationships’ programmes). We believe such indoctrination is wholly inappropriate for a school environment and will ban it.
Banned Subjects
- Woke and Wokeism
- Abnormal behaviour studies
- LGBTQ+
- Anti-Australian culture, history, customs and traditions agendas
