1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,200
Speaker 1: I think it's been inevitable for months now that the

2
00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:06,640
Speaker 1: Ministry of Education would lose responsibility for building and maintaining schools,

3
00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:09,360
Speaker 1: and at first glance, the government's onto a winner with

4
00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,920
Speaker 1: its alternative plan. So the review into the state of

5
00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:17,079
Speaker 1: school facilities shows only a third of the almost five

6
00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:20,560
Speaker 1: hundred building projects in the Ministry of Education Q have

7
00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,319
Speaker 1: been fully funded and concludes that the average cost of

8
00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,920
Speaker 1: a new classroom could rise to one point eight million

9
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,000
Speaker 1: dollars over the next few years. That's not a classroom block,

10
00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:34,720
Speaker 1: that's a single classroom. One point eight million dollars. That

11
00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:39,440
Speaker 1: is unsustainable, says the report, quote unquote, and if indeed

12
00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,000
Speaker 1: that price is accurate, you would have to be I

13
00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:46,080
Speaker 1: think crazy to disagree. One point eight million is fascical. Now, obviously,

14
00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,879
Speaker 1: not every school is the same. There are different environmental, geological,

15
00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:54,920
Speaker 1: topographical challenges that distinguish different locations, and no one is

16
00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,920
Speaker 1: expecting a one hundred percent standardized building model for every

17
00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,960
Speaker 1: single classroom across the country. But a greater degree of

18
00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,240
Speaker 1: standardization makes sense, of course it does, and more than anything,

19
00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:11,839
Speaker 1: a new system might allow for that most important quality transparency.

20
00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:16,000
Speaker 1: See at the moment, it is not always clear why

21
00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:20,080
Speaker 1: some school builds are prioritized over others. Schools are pushed

22
00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,880
Speaker 1: up and down the list at the mercy of political

23
00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,679
Speaker 1: and whatever other whims, and that can't continue. Schools and

24
00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:30,919
Speaker 1: school communities need clarity, They need certainty in any system

25
00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:33,679
Speaker 1: that can provide that while improving our classroom stock and

26
00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,920
Speaker 1: improving the learning environments for our kids has got to

27
00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:41,039
Speaker 1: be a good thing. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive.

28
00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,600
Speaker 1: Listen live to news talks that'd be from four pm weekdays,

29
00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:46,880
Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.