Australian fetishised with importing excessive quantities of the dumb and uneducated foreigners from overseas in order to suppress wages is not helpful to the statistical cause of quality education outcomes

The political class and the unions pig-headedly insist that it's all about money; whoever puts the most money in has 'done something' about education.

The money is going to the wrong people. Instead of money going to third-rate teachers, departments and bureaucrats, it should be distributed to parents by way of vouchers so that they can choose the schools they want their kids to attend.

Both public and private schools could then compete for students by providing what the parents want for their kids, and it wouldn't be the political indoctrination pounded out by poor quality activist teachers.

The poor mentality of Australian teachers is the outcome of the Goaf’s selling out the National Service. Ever since, common sense mentality has been forced out of the way by the socialist ‘let others be responsible’ mentality. I suggest that a career in teaching should not be possible without a 12 months Gap year National Service under the belt. Only people who understand responsibility can instil responsibility !

What a typically blinkered article I'm afraid dwelling on faux rightwing push button factors rather than taking a broader view.

Where was the acknowledgment that the great privatisation drive has failed us? Our ratio of private school students is around 35%. This puts us alongside countries like Madagascar, Liberia, Kuwait and Indonesia. Most of Europe the percentage is under 10% and in Singapore which the author has held up as a poster child it is 5.6%.
http://tradingeconomics.com/singapore/school-enrollment-secondary-private-percent-of-total-secondary-wb-data.html

Another factor is Singapore achieves the outstanding results it does because it invests in them.

It spends the equivalent of 20% of its GDP on education. Australia spends around 8.5%.

Inconvenient truths not mentioned.

"It [Singapore] spends the equivalent of 20% of its GDP on education. Australia spends around 8.5%."

Rubbish. In fact Singapore spends around 3% of GDP on education.
What is it with SR and numbers?

In Australia, spending per student has steadily increased over the past several decades even as outcomes have decreased. Clearly the amount spent isn't the determining factor.

But the thing is that we are comparing ourselves with nations who have very different aims in their education systems. Places like Singapore and Kazakhstan and the East Asian tigers look to educate their students in what we used to call the three 'R's. This is their major aim and sole determinant of success. But we have very different aims for our education system these days.

While it is true that authorities mouth platitudes about teaching literacy and numeracy etc in order to keep the paying public on the hook, education in Australia has very different aims and measures of success. Now we educate kids on non-core issues with entire schools devoted to sport or dance or the arts. Individual expression is seen as more important than understanding algebra.

When we no longer seek to inculcate students with literacy/numeracy, we'll inevitably fall behind nations who do prioritise these things. And the education mafia are fine with that.

This is why there is such a drive toward private education as parents seek to shield their kids from the education bureaucrats and give them a more traditional education

Another factor is Singapore achieves the outstanding results it does because it invests in them.
SteeleRedux,
Singaporeans have a mentality that is unacceptable to more than half of Australians. Caring & responsibility are shunned here whereas Singaporeans pride themselves in the common good. Singapore benefits from its education system, Australia’s is a liability. That is one inconvenient truth Australian Leftists ensure doesn’t get a mention.