‘Digital Education Revolution’ projects funding cut from $181 million to $8.5 million

Almost all of the ‘project pool’ funding of the once grandly trumpeted ‘digital education revolution’ has now been reallocated elsewhere following Labor’s recent crisis mini-budget.

Page 221 of the Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook discloses that ‘the Government will reduce funding for the Digital Education Revolution (DER) project pool by $40 million over two years.’

This follows the May 2011 budget when the same program was cut by $132.5 million over four years.

According to a report issued by the Auditor General in February 2011, funding for the ‘DER Projects Element’ at that time comprised $181 million, including $100 million for the High Speed Broadband to Schools initiative.

In Labor’s 2007 Digital Education Revolution election policy we were told:

“A Rudd Labor Government will revolutionise classroom education by putting a computer on the desk of every upper secondary student and by providing Australian schools with fibre to the premises connections, which will deliver broadband speeds of up to 100 megabits per second.’

But after cumulative cuts of $172.5 million in less than a year, there’s only $8.5 million left.

That won’t fund much of a revolution.

If DER stood for ‘digital education revolution’ in 2007, today it stands for ‘directed elsewhere rapidly.’