'Disinterest' reason for WA language cuts

Almost 150 West Australian public schools have stopped teaching languages other than English but the minister denies it is due to budget cuts, insisting students are just uninterested in the subject.

The opposition says 523 WA public schools taught LOTE last year, but this year only 377 public schools were teaching the subject.

Labor's education spokeswoman Sue Ellery said the Education Department used to fund half the teachers for LOTE programs centrally, but when the Student Centred Funding Model was introduced this year, the funding was cut.

But Education Minister Peter Collier told AAP there had been no cuts to education.

"To suggest there's been a decline in funding in schools is wrong," he said.

Mr Collier said students were simply not choosing to study a language at school because they had more subject options such as photography and media studies.

He conceded that finding qualified staff for each language was an issue, but said he was working with the tertiary sector on training more people.

Ms Ellery said it was unfortunate that schools had "stripped back" language studies because it put graduating students at a disadvantage.

"We know that they are competing on the international world market and without a second language it puts them at a real disadvantage," she said.

Mr Collier agreed it was an important course and said a plan would be implemented to get primary school children learning another language and foster interest early because it was harder to pick up as a child grew older.