Equity in education is an interesting topic. Perhaps our political stability and laid back attitude to Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum is because they both do the same things just with differing smiley faces? Earn a motza and get a motza. Earn less or be poor and get less.
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I missed this one back in May, but it’s still worth a read:
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Thanks for link but unfortunately you need to be a subscriber to read it.
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Try these
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An interesting bit of research suggesting that excepting for meeting ‘the old boys and girls of means’ and rubbing shoulders with them, private education seems a donation to the schools not an investment in a superior education, at least through elementary school.
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Some interesting comparisons of real life outcomes. Possibly also an explanation as to why it is and how it has become so.
Better to read the article and linked content.
Data collected for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age takes a snapshot of the education and career backgrounds that members of the 46th Parliament bring with them. In some ways, the Parliament is unrepresentative, elite, and homogenous:
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An update on the impact of the increase in tax-payer funding of private schools, vs what was assumed or claimed when the program was started 20 years ago.
TL;DR: although it was claimed at the time that the increase in funding would mean private schools would reduce their fees and become more affordable to students from low-income families, this outcome has not eventuated. There are now even fewer students from low-income families in private schools than before the funding was increased.
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Public funding for private education has become as much an Australian institution as guns in America 
Because so many battlers think a private education is better they are protective of any subsidy they think applies. It would be a brave pollie to actually reduce or eliminate it and divert the funding to the public sector.
What is the only thing guaranteed by private education? Would it be attending with and meeting the ‘right people’ from more wealthy families who could one day help one’s career or social prospects? Sadly the value of that may be immeasurable to be able to enter the old boys and girls clubs. Stalemate?
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This sounds very similar to the Finnish School funding system. While private schools exist in Finland, they are prohibited (as are all schools there) from charging tuition fees. Most children/students attend public schools which are free and this has the added benefit that rich and poor create friendships that bypass class boundaries.
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Yes, plenty of benefits especially at the wider social level.
We seem to be moving further from that ideal and closer to the US vision of “everyone for themselves”.
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Without arguing that point in general, since this topic is about school fees it should be noted that while some are championing funding private schools in various ways that would lead to an education system more like ours, their system remains a few decades trailing ours where it has long since been institutionalised and entrenched, and so far as politically untouchable as the American 2Amendment for guns.
Private education in the US is less costly if we ignore the exchange rate. I always think costs should be compared within the economic-monetary system and not translated to foreign currencies for comparison, eg the $USD. For example $AUD20,000 here should be comparable to $USD20,000 there for the purpose. Normalising to any currency only affects travellers and expats getting paid in currencies other than that in which they live and for international trade where finance is moved across borders including import/export prices.
While some states rival our costs on average many are but a fraction, and there are various guises of ‘scholarships’ that help defray private educational costs. Australian scholarships more reflect the traditional goal of supporting meritorious scholars while many American ones can be economic, cultural, affiliation, etc, etc, as well as academic, talent, or sports based.
When moving to Australia I found the private education system and community support for same to be more than mildly surprising in comparison, as well as what some think is a very tilted system that rewards those that have to the relative detriment of those who do not.
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A bit of good old Australian egalitarianism? No problem, nothing to see, next?
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Egalitarian and fair apparently means different things to different people.
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It seems to be hard to remove government handouts once they’ve been established… same with negative gearing, and Super benefits.
And handouts to the rich don’t seem to attract the same stigma as handouts to the poor.
Thanks for sharing Phil.
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This article gives the Government per student cost in Vic as $20,047 in public $12,087 in private
So a saving of nearly $8,000 per student for the Government
Also note that while the percentage is higher for non government schools the $ amount increase is actually lower, $4274 public and $2862 private
looking at enrollment figures for 2022 the Government would have needed to pay more than $2 billion dollars in extra funding if the private school students went to public schools
An update on how governments have not changed their funding pattern much, if at all. The private sector continues to get more annually and over time as a percentage increase. Embracing Gonski seems little but bi-partisan cynical window dressing.
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Can someone please fix the title to say “Public”? Seeing “pubic” is sending me off into hysterics and thats just inappropriate. giggle
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