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@article{191606,
        author = {Vaibhav Pramod Karajgikar},
        title = {Educational Inequality and Justice as Fairness: Rethinking Commonwealth Funding of Private Schools in Australia},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {8},
        pages = {7063-7068},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=191606},
        abstract = {This paper argues that in the Australian context, Commonwealth government funding of private schools in excess of their requirements, along with the shortfalls in Commonwealth and State funding of public schools due to perverse incentives, are responsible for the rising inequality when it comes to primary and secondary education across the nation. The analysis adopts John Rawls’s Theory of Justice as Fairness as its methodological framework. From a Rawlsian perspective, education is central to fair equality of opportunity, and inequalities are only justifiable if they benefit the least advantaged. Current funding arrangements fail this test, as unequal educational outcomes today translate into unequal life chances tomorrow, entrenching intergenerational disadvantages. Moreover, since education underpins informed citizenship, persistent inequality of opportunity poses long-term risks to Australia’s democratic character. Based on this analysis, the essay advances three policy recommendations: increasing the Commonwealth’s share of public-school funding from 20 per cent to at least 50 per cent; redirecting funding provided to private schools above the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) toward underfunded public schools; and strengthening state accountability to ensure all public schools receive 100 per cent of SRS funding annually.},
        keywords = {Australia & educational inequality, private & public-school funding, Rawlsian Theory of Justice, Justice as Fairness, intergenerational inequality & democracy.},
        month = {January},
        }