Funding increase for private schools likely from National

National leader John Key has proposed nearly doubling the government funding to private schools from the current $40 million to $70 million.

The funding has been capped since 2000 but independent school rolls have been climbing steadily since then, and combined with inflation it means the government subsidy per child has dropped 40 percent in real terms since 2000.

Funding for a child in the independent sector today sits at about 20 percent of the cost of educating a child in the state system.

Independent Schools of New Zealand (ISNZ) executive director Deborah James said the increase would go a long way toward making funding fairer and more equitable for families who wanted choice over where they had their children educated.

“It is important to promote choice in education, and funding should reflect the element of choice that so many parents desire,” Ms James said. “If independent schools were more affordable, they would be more accessible to a greater number of New Zealand parents.”

Private education saves state funds

NZIER noted in 2003 that the state could fund independent schools up to 46 percent of the cost of educating a child in the state sector and still save money, Ms James said.

“Every parent who sends their child to an independent school relieves the state from having to meet the full cost of that child’s education, thus freeing up additional monies for use in the state sector,” Ms James said.

Parents educating their children in independent schools were already funding the state education system through their taxes, and the GST paid on tuition fees by parents of children at ISNZ member schools was greater than the state grant for their children.

Children deserve educational diversity

National’s education spokesperson Anne Tolley said parents wanted educational choices and children deserved educational diversity.

“National simply does not accept that the present education system is universally delivering the best results for all children. We have a situation where one in five children emerge from the system without being able to adequately read and write. If this is as good as it gets then we should all be very worried indeed.”

National’s formal education policy, to be released closer to the election, would contain a move towards greater funding for independent schools, but that would not be at the expense public school funding.

“National sees education as the gateway to opportunity, and we will make sure many more children can take advantage of the opportunities that training and education bring. Public schools, as the main providers of education to Kiwi kids, have much to gain from National’s commitment to provide education entitlements to all children,” Ms Tolley said.

In Australia, all independent schools receive significant government funding, as the graph below shows.

Source: Independent Schools Council of Australia’s ‘Independent Update’, No 1, 2007.

Resources

John Key made his comments on funding levels on the Television New Zealand programme Agenda in mid-April. A transcript of the programme is at this web page.

A statement from Anne Tolley is at this web page.

The Independent Schools of New Zealand website.

The Independent Schools Council of Australia website.