The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) yesterday released its Schools, 2022 report, which revealed booming enrolments in private schools, while government schools lost students for the second year in a row:
Total school enrolments increased by 0.3% to a record high 4,042,512 students across 9,614 schools in 2022.
Independent schools recorded the highest growth rate (3.3%), followed by Catholic schools (1.0%). By contrast, enrolments in government schools fell for a second successive year, down 16,929 (-0.6%).
Ellouise Roberts, ABS head of education statistics, noted: “Over the past decade, enrolments in independent schools increased by over 25% (130,306). In comparison, government school enrolments rose 11% (263,447), followed by an 8% (58,773) rise in Catholic school enrolments over the same period”.
Part of the preference for independent schools might relate to the fact that they offer smaller class sizes, in addition to better facilities.
The ABS data shows that independent schools had a lower student to teacher ratio (11.7 students to one teacher) than government schools (13.4 students to one teacher) and Catholic schools (13.6 students to one teacher) in 2022.
It will be interesting to watch whether rising cost-of-living pressures (including soaring mortgage repayments) leads to an exodus from private schools in 2023 and 2024.
