Byrd (left) and eldest daughter. (photo by Sydney Morning Herald)
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, many private schools in Australia charge parents between A $70 and A $500, as well as up to A $7200 (that is, a "deposit", which is necessary if they are to get a place to attend). Both are not refundable. Still, private school places are tight, and some parents have even signed up for places soon after their children were born.
Byrd (Nicola Bodor) was told a month before her first daughter was born that she had to sign up for the baby before she could get a place at SCEGGS, a private school in downtown Sydney. Five days after her daughter was born, she registered her child for A $250. Eight months later, the child was given a place to attend school, but she still had to pay A $1000 "down", which is non-refundable. Now, her second child will be born a week later, and she is still ready to do so.
In a survey of more than 2000 parents, finder.com.au found that 6 percent of respondents had paid application fees to several private schools. New state enrolment data showed that 11 percent of primary and secondary school students enrolled in non-Catholic private schools, 16.6 percent of high school students, and more than 161550 students.
Hassan (Bessie Hassan), an economist at the site, said applying for multiple schools could put an economic burden on some families, especially when they were just having children. Even if some families can afford to pay for such schools in the future, they may not be able to afford them at birth, leading to successful school attendance at school age, she said.
Hasan pointed out that because of the shortage of degrees, whether or not paying applicants can get places, the money has been in the school pocket, can not get it back.
It is understood that last year`s 12-year tuition fee for (Scots College) at Skotz High School in Sydney was nearly A $35,000, admission fee A $500 and non-refundable registration fee A $5000. Cranbrook High School (Cranbrook School) `s 12th-grade tuition fee this year is A $37230, application fee A $300 and registration fee A $7275. Newcombe (Geoff Newcombe), president of (Association of Independent Schools of NSW), the new state private schools association, said that not all private schools would charge registration fees or waiting list fees, and that the money would be used primarily to cover the administrative costs of processing applications for admission. It is also designed to prevent parents from enrolling in multiple schools for the same child.
Luo (Emma Rowe), a lecturer in education at Deacon University (Deakin University), argues that school registration fees and competitive alleles are the result of a "hierarchical education system." "the need for schools to reflect the socio-economic status of families is unbelievable for students from families that have no means," she said. Many middle-class families seem to know that when their children are born, they start choosing secondary schools for their children, and many parents say this is a strong pressure from the start. "
