Education costs soar: report

THE Independent Schools Council of Australia (ISCA) is disputing research which claims that the estimated cost of a private education has soared by 64 per cent in the past decade.

The Planning for Education Index from Australian education investment fund ASG asserted that the estimated cost of a private education across metropolitan Australia for a child born in 2017 was $487,093; a jump of

$190,820 compared to a child born in 2007. The estimated cost of a systemic education soared by 57 per cent over the same period to $239,672, while the cost of a Government education climbed 25 per cent in the past 10 years to $68,613.

The survey named Sydney ($575,140) as the most expensive city in Australia to educate a child in the private school system, at 18 per cent above the national metropolitan average

($487,093) and significantly more expensive than Melbourne ($536,515) and Canberra

($447,307).

ASG said the research – based on more than 12,500 responses from parents – calculated a range of variables including school fees, transport, uniforms, computers, school excursions and sporting trips to determine the cost of education.

School fees, the cost of extracurricular activities including excursions and uniforms all rose in the past year, however computers and transport costs had fallen when compared to

2016.

The Independent Schools Council of Australia (ISCA) said that the research did not reflect the majority of Independent schools.

ISCA Executive Director Colette Colman said that while ASG stated that their school fee figures represented the upper ranges that parents can reasonably expect to pay, “they neglect to show just how small a proportion of Australia’s Independent schools are actually charging the kind of fees that could contribute to those sorts of cumulative costs”.

“ASG’S fee estimates state that the 2018 national metropolitan upper-range figure parents could expect to pay in secondary school fees is $21,004 per annum,” she said.

“However, the most recent official data shows a median Australian metropolitan Independent school fee of $6,441 per annum.

“Nationally, 70 per cent of metropolitan Independent schools are charging below $10,000 per annum.”

“They neglect to show just how small a proportion of Australia’s Independent schools are actually charging the kind of fees that could contribute to those sorts of cumulative costs.”