Illawarra parents are paying more for a public school education than anywhere else apart from metropolitan Queensland, according to new ASG Planning for Education Index research.
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ASG chief executive Ross Higgins said the group’s survey showed the cost of public school education in regional NSW, which includes the Illawarra, would be an estimated $73,808 over 13 years for a child starting kindy this year.
This is higher than the national regional average of $57,994, and what Sydneysiders will pay, $66,470.
Mr Higgins said ASG data – which takes into account school fees, external tuition, excursions, camps, uniforms, transport, devices and sport and musical equipment – showed the cost of education had risen at more than double the rate of inflation over the past decade and was demanding a “far greater” share of the family budget than before.
“People are working additional jobs, not paying their mortgage off as quickly and anecdotally the number of grandparents helping is quite big,” he said.
A Department of Education spokesperson said there were no charges to attend a public school and that public schools would receive $15.7 billion this year, including $6 billion for regional and rural schools.
A spokesperson for the NSW P&C Federation declined to comment on the figures but said it believed “the purpose of public education is to be equitable and without fees – and public schools must be sufficiently resourced so that no child or young person faces disadvantages in education due to factors beyond their control”.