fundings on uni compare to private schools (1 Viewer)

[...]

i'm disgusted by this issue..

coming from a semi-private school, why the heck do they get more funding when they are so damn rich!!!

 

[flyin']

It's because we have a Coalition in power. And the Education Minister is from the North Shore. And where do North Shore parents usually send their kiddies? Bugger, I got sent to a run-down places... *Sighs*

 

[Alexander]

I think 'Independant Schools' are a better term - they just aren't state schools.
For every student enrolled, the government contributes money - less money than they would contribute if the kid went to a state school. The rest of the money comes from school fees that most parents work very hard to pay for.
I think it's fair. It also reflects democracy. Most independant schools are religious -Anglican or Catholic mainly- many parents want their kids to have a religious education, I think it's fair they have a right to a half decent one. You should read about the Goulburn Cath. schools too..the plight of securing gov. grants has been a long and bitter one.

In terms of uni funding, it's crap though. But I guess you do learn to be more independant etc. and uni does represent 'an end of spoon-feeding'. In my case, gov. assisstance is ample, and once u get a job, it's even better, or if you continue what happens in private schools, ur parents might be able to contribute something too. HECS is kinda fair, as in you pay it back once you earn over a certain amount, interest free.
But i'd hate to tolerate any less, and would be happy to have a lill more...(?)

 

[...]

but the minister specifically used the term "private"


erk...

 

[Alexander]

Private is the simple term for it, ie. private companies and public companies, but Independant is better translation.
I dont know why people automatically assume that private is better. i come from a private school and it is ssssshi...bad. We only have one PC, it's not online, the school is physically falling apart, parents are expected to fix the school on weekends and my ex-principle (we havent had one for a year) confided that his wish is to have a 747 smash through the roof so he can be rich. We have 200 students, and the school is flirting with closure.
The grants arent all bad...

 

[Rorix]

Uh, the funding is increasing because the number of students is increasing. Do you want to propose an alternative funding system thats not based on where the students go? Increasing private school attendance would tend to indicate that a larger number of parents who aren't always rich are working hard to send their kids to private schools (maybe for religious education as Alexandar pointed out) so why shouldn't they get a break?

 

[ArgueEverything]

I go to a private school ($10 000 + per year), but you would be hard-pressed find anyone more opposed to the Federal government's education funding programme than me.

Alexander makes a fair point, but it is a moot one. No one is up in arms when your local Catholic school (Catholic schools are considered independent) gets a funding boost. It's when the richest schools - schools like Barker, Kings, Trinity Grammar etc - get millions when public schools in Western Sydney are allowed to rot, that people begin getting pissed off. And this is certainly what is happening now.

In the past, funding was based on means tested system. The government would look at each school and judge it on its merits: Kings, for example, would never be given $3 million to spend on another rugby field, swimming pool, lawn bowls arena, or whatever they do with all that money (they certainly don't use it to lower their fees, that much you can be certain of). Now, however, funding is not based directly on income at all: it's based on the area code of where you live! The problem is, there are plenty of suburbs in Sydney especially where the mean income is low, but still contain many very wealthy people - particularly inner western suburbs. And another thing: most private schools have a high % of borders, and borders tend to come from rural areas, which have very low average incomes, though the borders themselves tend to come from very wealthy families (otherwise they wouldn't be able to afford the huge bording fees).

The funding system is obviously rotten to the core, designed by rich politicians who send their own children to private schools, many with their own neoliberal agendas. Many of these people would no doubt like to see the whole idea of public education wither away into obscurity. Their plan is simple and its working: squeeze public schools of Federal funding, boost funding to private schools, pay public school teachers mickey mouse wages, wait till the HSC results of public schools become ridiculous, then watch while parents shirk and say 'hey, if we don't get our child into a private school, she's not going to get a decent job!'.

This is politics.

 

[Blackalicious]

ArgueEverything, i totally agree, well said.

 

[cheesegrater]

did anyone hear this topic being debated on jjj's "keeping the balance" this afternoon, quite hilarious. in fatc that whole show is possibly the funniest thing on the radio

 

[Courtenay]

Not all people who go to boarding school are wealthy

I have a heap of friends from rural areas whose farms are dying...yet their parents scartch around fro the money to send them to boarding school in sydney

And most teachers in private school get the same standard wage as the public schools

 

[rubylotus11]

Argueeverything, I also completely agree with you. I think that there is something fundamentally wrong with how the system currently works. With so many low income parents struggling to pay the fees for private schools why not invest into public schools to make them of a high enough standard so people don't need to spend their lives struggling so their children can get a good education. I think everyone has a right to an education that is of the highest standard despite how much their parents earn. Sure it's great if you earn enough and want to send your children to the best schools possible, but the point is the public school system should have the best schools. It's a complicated issue, but to me it seems clear that what makes sense for the future of the country is to make education a priority and that society would be a better place if all had access to a private school level of education.

 

[AGB]

i blame this whole problem on the teachers union and all of their little networks.......they are the biggest bunch of lefties in this great country of ours (and we would be better off without them) and are simply creating a storm in a tea cup (cliche..)!

although this has been stated a few times, a private school, believe it or not, does not equal rich students. i go to a school which charges about +$15000 per year, and there are a heap of ppl there who are not rich.....their parents make huge sacrifices to get them there and keep paying the outrageous fees

now, i admit, in some circumstances the funding given to private schools is a bit unfair e.g. when sydney grammar spent like a million dollars of their government funds fixing up their sandstone wall (couldnt resist mentioning it ), however on the whole it is not that unfair...there are just a few isolated incidents...

i wish people would stop bashing politicians....they arent all bad and they dont always act in a purely selfish manner. i have no doubt whatsoever in my mind that politicians, in regards to this issue, are acting in the best interest of young people in australia.

btw, the education minister is my local member....wonderful man...

 

[ameh]

A bit unfair? Come to my school and you'll know what it feels liek to share 1 textbook between 8 ppl (Yes it's a little bit difficult)

Politicians don't seem to acknowledge these errors even if they did i doubt they would do anything that would make any difference in the next few years, after all they send their children to these schools, why should they withdraw taxpayer funded education when they want the best for their children.

 

[Butterfly_Wings]

It's the reasoning that annoys me-"Not giving the private schools money would punish the people who work hard". Booooo!

 

[AGB]

Originally posted by Butterfly_Wings
It's the reasoning that annoys me-"Not giving the private schools money would punish the people who work hard". Booooo!

i have come to expect this sort of irksome rambling from you butterfly_wings.....

but seriously, you shouldnt be mean to rich people - its not their fault that they earn lots of money...

 

[Rorix]

As far as I understand, the funding is based on where the students go (correct me if I'm wrong). If a parent wants to send their child to a private school, why should they be penalised for such a decision?

 

[Generator]

At the same time, why should they have to pay twice for their child's education, and why should those using the public system have to pay for those who are willing to believe the hype that a private education is far better than one from the public system? I know that it is far from being that simple (given the wide range of private schools), but it is annoying to see a number of private schools receive large amounts of money despite their high fee levels.

 

[Rorix]

This is the way I see it. Under the funding system, each student is worth a certain amount of funding to the school at which they attend. For you to not assign funding in this way, you're saying that one student is worth more than another, simply because one attends a private school and one attends a public school.

Each parent also (in general) pays taxes which are used to fund both public schools and private schools, although most of this money would go to public schools, I'd imagine. In typing this, I forgot the point I was trying to make, so hopefully it makes sense.

Sure, it seems unfair that some of the very elite private schools recieve extra funding which they 'waste' on rather useless things where some public schools could use the money, but there are always extremes. I am sure that many private schools out there would be forced to raise fees if government funding was reassigned, and that there are many public schools out there that have plenty of money to spend if they chose too.

BTW: I attend a public school.

 

[Nearlyfinished!]

PRIVATE SCHOOLS SHOULD EITHER GET NO FUNDING FROM THE GOVERNMENT OR BE ABOLISHED. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO EQUALITY = EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Public schools and universities need the money a whole lot more than private schools. This wonderful government obviously has no idea what it is like for a student of an average (no not less than average or poor...) income home to even try and get into a uni course let alone pay for it.

 

[Tenax Propositi]

I have many opinions on many issues regarding this topic.

But to get to the point: It's all well and good that the government drown private schools in more money to give them even greater advantages over others..... but where do the public AND private students go to once they complete their secondary education? ....to a STARVED tertiary sector.

And who wins? ...Nobody.

This government needs to get its priorities in order.