Entrenching Inequality
Matthew Payne, Year 9, Boronia BK12 College

An often overlooked issue is the significant gap in government funding between public and private schools. You would think that public, government, schools would get more government funding than
private schools, but unfortunately that isn’t the case.
The Australian Education Union estimates that between 2024 and 2028, Australian public schools would be underfunded $31.7 billion, whilst private schools would be overfunded by $2.1 billion. This is
because 56% of private schools get more government funding than comparable public schools.
Before 1964, private schools didn’t get any funding from the government. However, successful lobbying and public pressure, particularly from the Catholic community, about the funding disparity,
led to the government slowly providing more and more funding. This has continued and extenuated to the current situation.
Private schools get more government funds, and so are able to portray themselves better. Thus, attracting enrolments away from local public schools. The more enrolments, the more money a
school gets, meaning the private school is now in an even better financial situation. In 1964, 76% of students went to public schools, that figure has dropped to just 64%.
This cycle has real world impacts entrenching inequality and limiting social fluidity. Local private schools are able to flaunt features such as builtin aquariums, whilst local public schools are left
without basic necessities such as air conditioners.
How can we allow this in our egalitarian society?
The most disadvantaged students are 2.4 times more likely to go to a Public, I.E, underfunded, school. This results in class divisions. Regardless of whether or not the school is actually better, the
current system creates a society of two parallels. Public school kids who aren’t exposed to the upper classes, and Private school kids who aren’t exposed to the lower classes. This results in social disunity,
adding tension to our rapidly rupturing social fabric.
I’m not calling for a complete retraction of private school funds, nor for public schools to get aquariums, just for equality. Public schools should be fully funded. 0% of Private Schools should
receive more government funding than Public Schools. Thus, evening the playing field slightly, and allowing for us to be a truly egalitarian society.
The Gonski reforms are helping to achieve full school funding, however they aren’t going to be released in full until the 2030s.
For my generation, they come as too little, too late.