Principals’ anger as ‘random number generator’ used to pick schools for science funding after arduous application process

Education Minister Norma Foley is under fire as school principals voice anger after her department resorted to allocating funding for science projects via a “random number generator” after it received more applications than expected.

Principals say they are disappointed more than 2,000 applications for Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) equipment and projects were not assessed at all, with the applications first being filtered by random lottery, before the successful ones were decided upon by a human being in the Department of Education.