A NEW report for Queensland's independent school sector has called for greater autonomy at state schools in regional areas such as the Far North.
The report was commissioned by Independent Schools Queensland and its author, Scott Prasser makes a number of recommendations to improve the state’s education system.
The policy analyst said public schools needed to adopt positive aspects of independent schools such as community involvement and subject diversity.
"School systems that perform the best are those where there's a lot of autonomy given to the school and the curriculum reflects the needs of the region," Dr Prasser said.
He called for the Government to make all school funding details public and to put greater focus on achievements and outcomes.
"We need an education system that is more diverse, that responds to local demands and is a bit more transparent, so we know how schools are performing."
There are five independent schools in Cairns including Cairns Adventist School, Cairns Rudolf Steiner School, Freshwater Christian College, Peace Lutheran College and Trinity Anglican School.
Trinity Anglican School principal Christopher Daunt Watney said the State Government needed to modify its perspective on education.
"We need to look more at what we get out of education rather than what we put into it in terms of money, teachers and resources," Mr Daunt Watney said.
"State and independent schools should be working really closely together here because we're all doing the same thing."
He said he agreed the Government needed to be more transparent when it came to funding and all schools needed to have a greater involvement with the community.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh yesterday said she would examine Dr Prasser’s report.
"If the independent schooling sector has put forward a report with ideas about how to make education better, I will look at it in full detail," Ms Bligh said.
