Schools comparison

Dear Editor,


Surprise, surprise (well not to me) the school rankings lists published in the NT News clearly shows that in most cases non-government schools have out-performed those run by the NT Government.


It therefore seems obvious that salubrious buildings and facilities, highly paid (and protected) teachers and a massive education department bureaucracy are not required to produce outstanding educational outcomes.


In fact I am reliably informed that the education department bureaucracy is far more of a hindrance than a help to those teachers in the public sector who are truly dedicated to achieving the best results for their students.


It is high time that this NT government, and in fact all state and territory governments began dismantling the vast, unproductive and expensive empires that the under-performing public education system has created and began encouraging the creation of more independent (non-government) schools.


Not only will such a move save the ever-suffering taxpayer millions of dollars, but even more importantly, it will encourage good teachers to strive for excellence in education, as distinct from the government system which, as the rankings tables shows, produces mediocre or poor results.


Yours truly,


Dave Wane


30th January, 2009