Private purse strings take a hit

PRIVATE school coffers suffered during 2021, with donations, parents’ fees and federal funds down sharply, a new report shows.

The 2021 National Report on Schooling in Australia shows that between 2020 and 2021, federal government funding increased by 10.6 per cent and state governments by 4.3 per cent for all schools.

However, this was offset by a drop in parents’ fees of 7.8 per cent and donations and bequests of 21 per cent, which primarily affect private schools.

The Catholic system was hardest hit, with an 8.2 per cent drop in private income, mainly from parents being unable to afford school fees during Covid-19.

Independent school funding overall decreased by 6.2 per cent, in line with federal policy commitments.

The new national snapshot also showed the differential impact of the pandemic on students and states.

Victoria students suffered through 16 weeks of statewide remote learning, NSW had 13 weeks, ACT four weeks, SA one week and none at all in other states and territories.

Despite this, stoic Victorian students had the highest attendance rates in the nation, with 77 per cent logging on to class more than 90 per cent of the time. The most conscientious students of all were from Victorian private schools, with 84 per cent attending school at least nine out of 10 days.

But there was an overall drop of attendance nationally by 0.5 per cent, which was attributed to bans on international students. The biggest drops in attendance from 2019 to 2021 were in Tasmanian government schools (7 per cent) and NSW government schools (5.2 per cent).

The lowest attendance rate of 49 per cent was in Northern Territory government schools.

Between 2020 and 2021, enrolment growth slowed, particularly in government schools. The report said the fall could be largely attributed to the disruption of overseas travel and the closure of international borders.