Randwick Schools Robbed of Government Funding
November 9, 2022
The NSW government has failed to deliver millions of dollars in promised funding to two of Sydney’s local public high schools, Randwick Girls and Randwick Boys High School.
The Berejiklian government made a public pledge in 2018 to target the two schools, as part of a $6 billion school infrastructure investment program. While the Department of Education costed upgrades to the two schools at $60 million in 2021, they have been allocated less than $9 million and received only $154,000 since this time.
Dr Marjorie O’Neill, local politician and Coogee Member for Parliament, has campaigned alongside Randwick Girls and Randwick Boys High School for the NSW government to address their unfulfilled financial promises.
‘I have joined with the schools to ensure that the major upgrades which were committed to by the government are fulfilled. There have been 3 budgets since the NSW Liberal government promised these major upgrades in 2018 and still, nothing has happened.’
‘The NSW government needs to properly invest in public education in Sydney’s east.’
Randwick Girls and Randwick Boys High School were built over 50 years ago and have not received any significant upgrades since. They require urgent upgrades in order to comply with fire safety regulations, the Disability Discrimination Act, the Building Code of Australia and the Educational Facilities Standards and Guidelines.
There are community concerns that the facilities are unable to meet current pedagogy, with insufficient STEM spaces, no computer learning unit in the library, obsolete food technology kitchens and no acoustic treatment for music spaces.
Dr O’Neill says that the NSW government’s inability to provide budget updates or take action towards upgrade planning, reflects a wider neglect of the public school sector.
‘Public schools are absolutely being left to fall behind. The way in which we learn has transformed in recent decades and syllabuses have changed to reflect this. The buildings at Randwick Girls and Randwick Boys aren’t fit for purpose for modern day teaching and learning’.
‘Our public schools are being underfunded by $600 million every year. This hasn’t just left schools without upgrades or adequate infrastructure… there are other issues like teacher shortages.’
The upgrades were planned to include modernising science labs, upgrading library facilities, improving toilet facilities, upgrading walkways and roof replacements.
Construction was scheduled by the Department of Education to begin in late 2022, however the schools are yet to receive a proposed start date.
