Private schools in NSW are being showered with millions of dollars of public money, with a new report showing 36 private schools were each individually overfunded more than $1 million in 2020.
These schools are some of the wealthiest and most well-resourced private schools in the state.
According to the report commissioned by the NSW Teachers Federation, St Augustine’s College, Loreto Kirribilli, and St Aloysius’ College, topped the list of the most overfunded private schools. St Augustine’s was overfunded by $6.9 million, Loreto Kirribilli by $5 million and St Aloysius by $4.6 million.
The report shows that the federal and NSW governments delivered $120 million in overfunding to 130 independent schools in 2020, while the entire public school system sits more than 10 per cent below its minimum funding levels.
“The funding greed of private schools and priorities of this government has again been exposed,” said Angelo Gavrielatos, President of the NSW Teachers Federation.
“A national plan is urgently required to ensure all public schools are funded to the minimum level necessary to give all students, regardless of their background or circumstance the opportunities they deserve.”
The overfunding of private schools is a situation that has outraged Jane Caro, who is running as a senate candidate for Reason Australia at the upcoming federal election.
“Private schools are outrageously overfunded in terms of the level of need and also in terms of the amount of fees they collect from parents,” Caro told Women’s Agenda.
“This is such a waste of public money, in terms of the extraordinary amounts that are given to private schools that are already so well resourced, teaching students that are already highly advantaged.
“It adds nothing to Australia’s educational achievements, and it doesn’t even lower their school fees to make them more accessible. It achieves precisely nothing.”
Caro believes the current policy of overfunding private schools and leaving public schools underfunded is creating a class system in Australia.
“We have decided to pick winners and losers,” Caro said. “The government has chosen which children we are prepared to put resources behind and which children we won’t.”
“It is an extraordinary use of public money and an extraordinary policy to be pursuing for any civilised nation.”
Caro, who says she wants to be a voice for public schools if elected to the senate, says we need to ensure that every public school is funded to at least the minimum agreed resource standard.
“At the moment, none of them are, bar a handful of them in the ACT,” she said.
“Particularly those schools where it is the most expensive to teach children. Those are the ones with the most disadvantaged children. We need to make sure those schools get the resources they need for the degree of difficulty of their job.”
She said smaller class sizes in schools with the most disadvantaged children would make a real difference.
“There are an enormous number of things we could do immediately to change the future for those kids. And yes, if that means taking some public money off private schools that are grossly overfunded, then let’s do it. Let’s have the courage to do it.”