Education:
Education shall be the highest priority area after water, food security, health and housing for India Greens Party as it is principally a public good. The party believes in the universal, common and free education to all, especially to the females and the socio-economically and culturally deprived and underprivileged sections of societyirrespective of anything and at all levels and by the government.
India Greens Party shall pursue these goals in any political situation or climate. India Greens Party believes that private means profit and therefore shall oppose private education in any form and at any level. Not only this, India Greens Party shall favour special incentives to the deprived and underprivileged sections of society irrespective of anything for pursuing higher education.
Therefore, India Greens Party believe that:
- Universal access to high quality education is fundamental to India’s economic prosperity, environmental sustainability, well-being and social fulfillment.
- All people are entitled to free, well-funded and high quality, life-long public education and training.
- Differences in educational outcomes should not be the result of difference in wealth, income, power, possessions or location.
- The governments have a primarily responsibility to fund all levels of the public education system — early childhood education, schools, vocational education and training and universities — to provide high quality education to all students.
- Federal funding to the school education systemshould be on the basis of need and equity to ensure that all children have the opportunity to fulfill their best educational outcomes.
- Federal schools funding policy should prioritise the public education system to ensure that the government schools are able to provide the highest quality educational experiences and set the educational standards for the nation.
- Decision making in education should be open to input from teachers and academics and their unions, and parents and students.
- Decisions about curriculum, testing, reporting and teaching should be based on evidence and be made in consultation with appropriate educational experts, teachers, and their unions and other stakeholders.
- The salaries and conditions of teachers, early childhood educators and other educators should be set at a level that recognises their professionalism, training and the importance of their work, provides secure career structures, and encourages committed and capable people into the teaching profession at all levels of the education system.
- Adivasi, Dalit and other marginalised peoples’ educational outcomes should match the rest of thepopulation.
- Adivasi, Dalit and other marginalised peoplesshould be able to exercise meaningful control over the design and delivery of educational services for their children and other community members.
- The education system should encompass the history, culture and contemporary experience of Adivasi, Dalit and other marginalised peoples, including in the training and professional development of all teachers.
- Early childhood education is a critical component of lifelong learning and should be provided by government and accredited community organisations and not-for profit providers.
- Vocational education and training (VET) should be primarily provided through the public system.
- Universities are places of learning and research where the needs of the whole community and the values of service to the public, scholarship and academic freedom should take priority over sectional and commercial interests.
- Full-time university and VET students are entitled to a living allowance that enables them to focus primarily on their studies.
- All students should have the opportunity to study at university regardless of their private capacity to pay for their education.
- The higher education system should be regulated to protect international students from exploitation and ensure they are treated with dignity and are able to access the services they need.
- Education unions are the appropriate representatives of educators in all educational matters.
- Quality green space, including nature-play spaces, should be available to all children and young people within educational settings.
Therefore, Indian Greens want:
- A government school system that is recognised as among the best in the world.
- Schools funding provided on the basis of equity and need.
- Funding levels based on a transparent standard that recognises the real cost of educating students to a high level. Government schools must be fully funded, including the full cost of addressing disadvantage.
- To ensure that the viability and diversity of existing government schools is not endangered.
- Government education infrastructure to be adequately funded for capital works and maintenance to create an optimal learning environment whilst meeting the highest environmental sustainability standards.
- Where government education infrastructure and land is sold because of changing demand, the proceeds to be redirected into a fund for the construction of newgovernment schools and buildings.
- Government education infrastructure and land to remain in public ownership and control.
- Smaller class sizes throughout the government education system to achieve manageable workloads for all educators and the best educational outcomes for all students.
- More teachers to educate children with special needs, in schools that suffer socio-economic disadvantage and schools with a high proportion of Adivasi, Dalit and other marginalised children.
- An increase in specialist teachers and support services for students and pre-school children with special needs, including those with a disability or a learning difficulty.
- Rejection of performance based pay for school teachers and other educators, as it undermines the cooperative environment that is essential to achieving the best educational outcomes, cannot be fairly implemented, discriminatesagainst disadvantaged schools and students, and places downward pressure on overall pay and conditions.
- Increased pay, professional recognition, improved pre- and in-service training and increased release time for the development of, and participation in professional learning communities.
- Schools and curriculum material free from corporate sponsorship and influence, including the use of sponsors’ material or logos.
- Education funding across all sectors that does not include or promote competition, privatisation, outsourcing, and other market based mechanisms.
- A secular government education system free from religious proselytising and materials that discriminate on the basis of race, sexuality or gender.
- Home schooling options for parents to educate their children if they meet requirements to provide a balanced education, core educational outcomes and social interaction with peers.
- No government funding for schools, VET or tertiary education providers that operate for private profit.
- Direct government support for apprentices, including to help pay for apprentice training, tools and equipment, and a living allowance.
- Educators to have a key role in developing and reviewing training packages.
- Improved access to comprehensive publicly provided tertiary education for rural, regional and remote communities.
- To ensure that universities are adequately resourced by the government to ensure planned growth in the sector can occur in order to improve accessibility whilst retaining high quality public education and standards.
- adequate funding to all rural, regional and outer-suburban universities.
- Free university education for Indian students.
