22 October 2020
The establishment of a not-for-profit company to oversee Melbourne’s 293 Catholic schools responds to the needs of the future, says National Catholic Education executive director Jacinta Collins.
“The decision by Archbishop Peter Comensoli to restructure the management of Melbourne’s Catholic schools is in line with the direction of other Catholic dioceses and state bodies across the country,” Ms Collins said.
“We have seen similar approaches in the Archdiocese of Sydney, Western Australia and the New South Wales state commission, for example, which recognise the changing and complex needs of managing large school systems in today’s educational context,” she said.
“Over 200 years, Catholic schools have been established and grown through the leadership and hard work of parishes and religious congregations which has made an enormous contribution to education in Australia, serving 768,000 students across 1,751 schools.
“As the largest Catholic school system in Australia, and with changes to the governance, funding and educational requirements around schools over the years, it makes good sense for Melbourne to coordinate the oversight and leadership of their schools under a contemporary management structure.”
“We look forward to working with Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Ltd under the continuing leadership of Chief Executive Officer Jim Miles and new Chair Gerard Dalbosco,” she said.
