Tony Abbott wants 'independent public schools' to take more responsibility for their finances, curriculum and staff selection

Tony Abbott wants a quarter of all state schools to become “independent” by the end of the first term of a Coalition government – with principals and parents taking more responsibility for finances, curriculum and staff selection.

The Coalition is setting aside $70m to help schools make the transition to become “independent public schools” – similar to “academies” in the UK or “charter” schools in the US.

Independent schools are still publicly funded, and are not allowed to charge compulsory fees or set selective entrance standards, but, according to the Coalition, will be run more like a private school, with greater freedom to determine what is taught, to choose staff and determine staff pay.

The policy is modelled on Western Australia’s independent public schools and, on the basis of the WA experience, Abbott says “the Coalition will aim to encourage 1,500 (or 25%) of all schools to adopt similar levels of autonomy over the first four years of a Coalition government”.

But other states, including New South Wales, have rejected the model, with the NSW education minister, Adrian Piccoli, saying recently he had seen “no evidence” that independent schools improved school performance.

The Coalition sought to defuse the debate over schools funding by shifting its policy just before the election and agreeing to match Labor’s funding deal with the states for its first four years.

Abbott repeated on Wednesday the Coalition “will spend exactly the same on schools education as Labor”, although the Coalition has not promised to match Labor’s funding in the fifth and sixth years of the federal/state deals when two-thirds of the promised increase in funding – an additional $7bn – is due to be paid.

The Coalition has also promised to “review” Labor’s My School website and has indicated it may no longer publish the results of the nationwide Naplan tests.

“We have major concerns about Naplan results being published on the My School website and the results being used to name and shame schools. The Coalition is also deeply concerned about increasing reports of teachers ‘teaching to the test’, students with a disability being asked to stay home on testing day as to not drag the schools result down and students becoming ill following prolonged periods of test anxiety,” the policy says.

“We want to consult further with teachers and the states on options that will see the Naplan testing return to a useful diagnostic tool as was intended, and will review the website if elected to government.”

And the Coalition promises to also “review” the national curriculum, which it claims has become politicised.

“For example, the current curriculum suggests that our students are best served learning about the day-to-day activities of trade unions and the history of the Australian Labor party … the curriculum contains two references to trade unions, four references to progressive ideas and associated movements, and the only prime minister to be explicitly referenced is John Curtin.

“There is no explicit mention of the conservative parties in the curriculum. The Coalition will achieve the right balance and ensure that our students learn educational basics and important fundamentals about our nation’s history and structure,” the policy document says.

The policy also pledges to increase the proportion of year 12 students learning a foreign language to 40%, from about 12% now.