Private schools save the state $180 million

16 April 2008

Private schools save the state $180 million

At present the government saves $180 million by not having to educate the 4.1% of school-age children educated in the independent or private sector.

There has been a 40% real decrease in funding since the Labour Government capped the funding at the 2000 levels. The decrease has resulted from both inflation and an increase in student numbers at independent schools. Funding for a child in the independent sector today sits at about 20% of the cost of educating a child in the state system.

The NZIER report “Funding Arrangements for Independent Schools”, completed in 2003, calculated that the state could fund independent schools up to 46% of the cost of educating a child in the state sector and still save money.

If independent schools were more affordable, they would be more accessible to a greater number of New Zealand parents. 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.

Parents educating their children in independent schools are already funding the state education system through their taxes. The GST paid on tuition fees by parents of children at ISNZ Member Schools is greater than the state grant received.

Independent schools are not asking for funding that would exceed the cost of educating a child in the state sector.

ENDS

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