Building Education Revolution spending needs to be more effective

Comments on Justine Ferrari “Lost for words at this science”, http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26015468-5015664,00.html

The education revolution spending does expose the Rudd government's big problems in its very skillful political spins and poor program management. Besides, it is seen as another political bribe for voters or the next election.

Labor’s tradition has been means test for lots of things, but apparently not for the Building Education Revolution spending on schools. Schools get that funding to build school halls and libraries, irrespective their financial circumstances and whether they need a new hall or a new library.

There are three stings of the government’s school education spending. The first one is no means testing that is still arguable though not necessarily a sound public policy.

The second one is the policy direction of the spending on halls and libraries that is a very unwise and unnecessary. Schools may have better areas of needs and should be given the right to decide how to spend the funding.

The third one is its requirement for the funding to be spent before a tight deadline. That hastiness has brought higher costs of projects and lower quality of buildings for years to come.

Politics and micromanage get in the way of sound program management and meaningful and effective policy objectives. These are useful but costly lessons from the Rudd government’s Building Education Revolution spending so far.

The government needs to be practical, sensible, value for money in managing taxpayers’ money and government spending.