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Private school student numbers up 21.5% February 27, 2007 - 6:04AM Parents are turning their backs on a public education for their children, new figures reveal. The annual Schools Australia report, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, showed the number of students at government schools has risen by just 1.2 per cent since 1996, Fairfax newspapers reported. This compared with a 21.5 per cent rise in the number of pupils at independent and Catholic schools. Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop said the figures were a wake-up call to the states. " Parents are choosing to pay school fees at non-government schools because of the quality of education provided," she said. But Victorian Education Minister John Lenders, who Fairfax says sent his children to private schools, said the results were a demonstration of the federal government's funding priorities. In Victoria, the number of children at government schools bucked the national trend, rising by 3.7 per cent over the same period. But in the ACT, the number of children at government schools dropped by 12.3 per cent in the decade to 2006 as private school enrolments rose by 14.2 per cent. In South Australia, government school enrolments fell 7.7 per cent, while new private school student numbers increased 25.3 per cent. Despite the changes, overall 66.8 per cent of Australia's 3,368,036 full-time school students went to government schools. This was down from 70.7 per cent in 1996. Association of Independent Schools of Victoria chief executive Michelle Green said growth in private schools showed "more people are prioritising their children's education". http://www.smh.com.au/news/Natio ... /1172338577540.html  [ 本帖最后由 villa 于 2007-4-11 22:24 编辑 ] |
