The community response over the NSW government’s changes to the selective schools' admission process has turned political, with concerned parents in Sydney’s northwest now targeting NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet in the lead-up to the March state election.
Bruce Fan, the organiser that protested the changes to the admission process that reserves up to 20 per cent of places for students from disadvantaged groups, said he was confident that his group could mobilise in the premier’s seat of Epping.
“My goal is to unseat him,” he said.
The NSW government announced an overhaul of the entrance requirements for selective schools in July, after a 2018 review found “...that certain groups of high-potential students were missing out on places”.
These were identified as students from low socio-economic backgrounds, First Nations' backgrounds, those with disabilities, and those from rural or remote areas.
The new Equity Placement Model introduced for 2023 enrolments in NSW opportunity classes and selective high schools - which are determined by a placement test - would reserve up to 860 places for students from the four equity groups.
Almost 4,500 people have signed the petition against the changes, and Mr Fan said with legal class action ruled out, their only option was to try to unseat Mr Perrottet at the next state election.
“I don’t just want to make noise … if I can unseat him, the next target is Sarah Mitchell [Education Minister],” he said.
Mr Fan said he had more than 1,000 members in multiple WeChat groups - many who lived in the Epping electorate. He has already written to the NSW Ombudsman expressing his concerns.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet (middle), and NSW Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell (right) at Cammeray Public School. Source: AAP / BIANCA DE MARCHI/AAPIMAGE
“It's too late [to meet with the Premier]. He has rolled out the policy. The damage has been done. There's no way to go back. What I want is to cancel the policy,” he said.
“Instead of reserving 20 per cent, I want to increase by 20 per cent places for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. That makes more sense to me."
Mr Fan said members of the group had met with the Department of Education shortly after the reforms were announced.
“Nobody cared about what we wanted,” he said.
Pre-election jitters in Willoughby
With the state election less than six months away, the nerves are being felt in the Liberal Party in the neighbouring Willoughby electorate.
NSW Liberal MP and member for Willoughby, Tim James, has spoken out against his own government’s changes to the selective schools' system, saying he shares community concerns about the impact of reserving up to 20 per cent of places for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Mr James said parents in his electorate were concerned that existing standards may be lowered and that eligible students might miss out.
“I share these concerns and wish to ensure that otherwise well-intentioned reform is done right and without unintended consequences,” he told SBS Chinese.
NSW Liberal MP Tim James. Source: Supplied / Facebook
“No one opposes giving the disadvantaged in our society a helping hand. However, we should be seeking to lift these students up, addressing the root causes of disadvantage and giving everyone equal opportunity to flourish, instead of lowering standards for some,” he said.
Mr James said families in his electorate were unhappy about the consultation regarding the reforms.
Nearly 27 per cent of the electorate recorded Chinese ancestry at in the 2021 Census, with 58 per cent of the population with both their parents born overseas. In Epping, it's 31 per cent of the population with Chinese ancestry and nearly 67 per cent with both parents born overseas.
“There are also legitimate questions regarding the consultation of this change and adequate consideration of the impact on families,” he said.
“The Minister [for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell] has organised for my office to receive an urgent briefing from the Department and agreed to my request for an information session with local residents.”
Ms Mitchell said on 18 July that “a student’s academic potential should not be determined by where they live, their background, or their disability”.
There are plenty of gifted and talented kids in NSW - why push them out of selective schools?Bruce Fan
Mr James narrowly won the seat of Willoughby in a by-election in February, despite a 13.5 per cent swing against the Liberal Party, and recognised the March state election would be a close one.
“I've been entirely upfront about this - there’s a lot of hard work ahead, and a lot of delivery to get done,” he said.
“If you're a good Member of Parliament, you're not afraid to stand up to your own government, your own party, to people in leadership positions, I think that's an important part of the job.”
Offers made under the Equity Placement Model
The Department of Education said the first year of its new Equity Placement Model for the 2023 student cohort had “made progress in closing the gap in participation in selective high schools from under-represented groups without having a significant impact on other applicants”.
Initial offers for the 2023 entry into selective high schools were released on 19 August and “fewer than half of the equity places held were offered”. There were 4,248 places available in selective high schools across NSW for entry to Year 7 in 2023.
On its website, the department said: “...369 out of 860 equity places held, or 8.7 per cent of the 20 per cent have been offered” and “...the vast majority of places will be offered as usual to general applicants (91.3 per cent of 4,253)”.
More equity places were offered to students in partially selective high schools and regional agricultural high schools (11.3 per cent out of the 20 per cent) compared to 7.3 per cent for fully selective high schools.
If you're a good member of Parliament, you're not afraid to stand up to your own government, your own party, to people in leadership positions, I think that's an important part of the job.Tim James
And contrary to community concerns, “...the majority of students offered equity places have test performance equivalent to or higher than students on the reserve lists for those schools,” the department said.
Mr James acknowledged the impacts of the new policy “...would not have flowed through yet” and the department had said they would be “negligible”.
“I’ve been told by the minister's office and others in the department that the impacts on this community will be very limited largely, because those four equity groups are not so significant if I could put it that way, in this area,” he said.
“They've said to me that the impact of it will be negligible, certainly in the first year or two, and … they'll keep an eye on us.
“I said ‘Well, I want to know precisely what the data is showing’, because I'm concerned that anyone … might potentially miss out and I don't want any children in this community to miss out on a place at a selective school.”
SBS Chinese has contacted NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet for comment.
