❓ Hon B.M. Scott asks about government resources for schools to address the high cost and short lifespan of senior school textbooks. Hon G.T. Giffard responds by outlining existing funding sources and school-level decision-making regarding textbook purchases.
AnsweredQoN 821Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
The estimated cost of a set of class textbooks, compliant with student outcome statements for senior school students in 2002, is in excess of $1 000. The average shelf life of a book is three years, due to currency of information, especially in technology advancement, and curriculum changes. What resources does the Government intend to extend to schools to address these needs? Hon G.T. GIFFARD
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of this question. Schools receive funding from a variety of sources, including the school grant, contributions, charges and fees levied on parents, the Secondary Assistance Scheme and special purpose funding to run specific projects. School grant funding is allocated to schools on a recurrent basis and is indexed annually to make allowance for increasing costs. The recurrent indexed nature of the funding ensures that schools are able to replace various teaching and learning materials on a cyclical basis. Schools make decisions at the local level about the purchase of sets of textbooks to be used to achieve designated student outcomes. In the post-compulsory years the charges scheduled may include book hire. This plan minimises the cost of textbooks to parents, while assisting schools to maintain current sets of textbooks.
Hon G.T. GIFFARD replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. Schools receive funding from a variety of sources, including the school grant, contributions, charges and fees levied on parents, the Secondary Assistance Scheme and special purpose funding to run specific projects. School grant funding is allocated to schools on a recurrent basis and is indexed annually to make allowance for increasing costs. The recurrent indexed nature of the funding ensures that schools are able to replace various teaching and learning materials on a cyclical basis. Schools make decisions at the local level about the purchase of sets of textbooks to be used to achieve designated student outcomes. In the post-compulsory years the charges scheduled may include book hire. This plan minimises the cost of textbooks to parents, while assisting schools to maintain current sets of textbooks.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. Schools receive funding from a variety of sources, including the school grant, contributions, charges and fees levied on parents, the Secondary Assistance Scheme and special purpose funding to run specific projects. School grant funding is allocated to schools on a recurrent basis and is indexed annually to make allowance for increasing costs. The recurrent indexed nature of the funding ensures that schools are able to replace various teaching and learning materials on a cyclical basis. Schools make decisions at the local level about the purchase of sets of textbooks to be used to achieve designated student outcomes. In the post-compulsory years the charges scheduled may include book hire. This plan minimises the cost of textbooks to parents, while assisting schools to maintain current sets of textbooks.
Schools receive funding from a variety of sources, including the school grant, contributions, charges and fees levied on parents, the Secondary Assistance Scheme and special purpose funding to run specific projects. School grant funding is allocated to schools on a recurrent basis and is indexed annually to make allowance for increasing costs. The recurrent indexed nature of the funding ensures that schools are able to replace various teaching and learning materials on a cyclical basis. Schools make decisions at the local level about the purchase of sets of textbooks to be used to achieve designated student outcomes. In the post-compulsory years the charges scheduled may include book hire. This plan minimises the cost of textbooks to parents, while assisting schools to maintain current sets of textbooks.
Hon G.T. GIFFARD replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. Schools receive funding from a variety of sources, including the school grant, contributions, charges and fees levied on parents, the Secondary Assistance Scheme and special purpose funding to run specific projects. School grant funding is allocated to schools on a recurrent basis and is indexed annually to make allowance for increasing costs. The recurrent indexed nature of the funding ensures that schools are able to replace various teaching and learning materials on a cyclical basis. Schools make decisions at the local level about the purchase of sets of textbooks to be used to achieve designated student outcomes. In the post-compulsory years the charges scheduled may include book hire. This plan minimises the cost of textbooks to parents, while assisting schools to maintain current sets of textbooks.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. Schools receive funding from a variety of sources, including the school grant, contributions, charges and fees levied on parents, the Secondary Assistance Scheme and special purpose funding to run specific projects. School grant funding is allocated to schools on a recurrent basis and is indexed annually to make allowance for increasing costs. The recurrent indexed nature of the funding ensures that schools are able to replace various teaching and learning materials on a cyclical basis. Schools make decisions at the local level about the purchase of sets of textbooks to be used to achieve designated student outcomes. In the post-compulsory years the charges scheduled may include book hire. This plan minimises the cost of textbooks to parents, while assisting schools to maintain current sets of textbooks.
Schools receive funding from a variety of sources, including the school grant, contributions, charges and fees levied on parents, the Secondary Assistance Scheme and special purpose funding to run specific projects. School grant funding is allocated to schools on a recurrent basis and is indexed annually to make allowance for increasing costs. The recurrent indexed nature of the funding ensures that schools are able to replace various teaching and learning materials on a cyclical basis. Schools make decisions at the local level about the purchase of sets of textbooks to be used to achieve designated student outcomes. In the post-compulsory years the charges scheduled may include book hire. This plan minimises the cost of textbooks to parents, while assisting schools to maintain current sets of textbooks.
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