Private school or Government school, what are parents’ choices?

Private school or Government school, what are parents’ choices? 

The above pie charts reveal that the total percentage of private school students was 28% in 1991. Notably, in 2001, the total percentage enrolment of private school in NSW has increased to 31.3%. In 2011, this total percentage has increased to 34%. It's apparent that in the two decade, the total percentage of private school students has increased significantly. In the report “Public primary school numbers up but it tends to get private after that”, there is a concise description of Australia Modern parents’ mentality. In the article, Liz Foster started to worry which school would be better for her children to attend when her children were still in their nappies. Most parents are similar to Liz Foster; parents always want to offer the best educational environment for their children.  

The report title demonstrated that Australia parents are more inclined to choose private schools for their children, especially for high school. Until year 2012, the enrolment of non-government school grew up to 34.3 percent. The proportion of choosing non-government school has reduced in recent years, the reason for that is “My School website is manifesting that government schools have a lot of positive things to offer, so parents are not in so much of a hurry to move into the non-government system,'' Lesley Greenwood a manager of demography at the DEC. However the option of private school is a growing trend. The right to a quality free education, a pillar of egalitarianism in our society, is becoming dangerously undermined through reluctance for structural funding reform. (STOCKS.M, 2011). From 2010 to 2011, the total of government funding on education is 44.3 billion, with $34.5 billion going to government schools and $9.8 billion to non-government schools. (Independent School council of Australia, 2012). Independent school attracts students and parents through marketing, business planning and manipulating of funding in order to improve school resources. There are several reasons that parents prefer non-government school rather that government school. When teenage goes to high school the anxieties around peer group, school results and pressure of accessing the passport for university, there's a feeling that there's social cachet attached to some of the private schools. (Helen Proctor, 2013)  

I went to a non-government school; I felt that my school offered a better study environment, better school spirit, higher reputation and more educational resources compared to public schools. Undisputed, parent would choose our school, private school through various curricular offerings, virtual place designed to reflect image of school and powerful promote such as uniforms, prospectus, Open Days, parents and students themselves. However, no significant difference in completion rate at university between government, Catholic & independent school students; below the data table indicate that the independent school student actually has low attendance in university.  In other word, independent school students are not doing better than government school students or pay higher school would gain better outcomes.

Therefore, parents should not send their children to non-government school without destination. “Both positions are significant. But for a decade we’ve placed the focus on schools and teachers – while new data and findings are saying this isn’t enough” (Bonnor, 2011). In education, invest lots of money on your child educational career does not equal to certain learning outcome. When parents select a school for their child, they should consider of their needs, interests, strengths and aspiration.  

References:

1.     Tovey.J (2013), Public primary school numbers up but it tends to get private after that, Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald, reviewed from  http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/public-primary-school-numbers-up-but-it-tends-to-get-private-after-that-20130823-2sh7r.html#ixzz2hHp21vZM

10/10/2013

2.     Independent Schools Council of Australia, (2012), Funding of Independent Schools, Australia, ISCA reviewed from http://isca.edu.au/about-independent-schools/funding-of-independent-schools/

10/10/2013

Bonnor, C. (2011). “Our Schools: The Data Tells a Concerning Story”. EDST1104 Social Perspectives in Education: Guest Lecture. University of New South Wales, July 2011. Reviewed 10/10/2013