When the sixth graders are busy attending the graduation ceremony of primary school and the middle school are busy holding the welcome party, Australian parents are not happy and are questioning how their children are going to high school so quickly.
The reason why they are so depressed is because they all know that once a child starts secondary school, the cost of education will suddenly become higher, especially in the so-called "free" public schools, where the costs are beyond the affordability of the family.
Many parents wondered, "what about free education?"
Rising costs of secondary education
The Australian Scholarship Group regularly publishes the estimated cost of education for Australian students.
The average cost of urban public education in Australia rose from A $3136 in primary schools to A $4628 in secondary schools, according to a 2018 ASG report.
The cost of urban areas in Victoria is even higher, with public primary education rising from A $3489 to A $5170.
All types of primary to secondary education costs are on the rise! The average cost of a Victorian church school, for example, nearly tripled from A $6650 in primary schools to A $13476 in secondary schools.
Private schools also rose from A $15918 to A $29098.
The original bag of rising costs, then, why so much increase?
Tim Mitchell-Adams, chief executive of ASG, said some of the cost differences were easy to show, but also because of the extra costs that caused parents to be angry.
"for example, higher tuition fees, uniform book bills! These include increased extra-curricular expenses, tutoring fees, higher travel costs, various activities costs, short trips and camping expenses, and telephone calls to keep in touch with children. "
"the concept of free education is not true."
Anne Hollonds, director of the Australian Family Research Institute, said the amount of money paid by parents to keep their children in touch with themselves has increased significantly over the past decade.
In addition, housing, food and energy costs are rising sharply, but wages remain unchanged.
"parents only respond to this change by cutting back on living expenses, such as buying second-hand clothing, cheap food, and reducing family holidays."
The smart device is not a luxury for the family, it has become a part of life. Without these equipment, they will not be able to complete the secondary school curriculum.
She says multiple family pressures could put some people at a disadvantage. Especially for children, the more disadvantages they face, the more difficulties they face.
How to change the economic predicament?
Adnan Glina, executive general manager of Unity Life and Super, said, Australian Unity`s Education Savings Fund would provide parents with a way to save tax breaks.
Mr Glina says it will never be too late to start saving now.
"in the short term, families may need to make some initial sacrifices, but this is just the beginning. Now start planning to increase savings, which is the best way to achieve your goal. "
Grandparents, friends and relatives can be asked to contribute to the fund on their birthday or Christmas.
The Smith family is also an organization dedicated to improving the education of children in disadvantaged families. 1.1 million Australian children and adolescents live below the poverty line, says Anton Leschen, general manager of Victoria.
For disadvantaged families, the rising cost of education is a huge burden as children grow up.
"Education is the first luxury they have to give up," said Mr Leschen, "because of the financial distress and the disadvantaged social position."
To reduce the cost burden, some sensible children choose cheaper subjects, rather than those they love, and are later forced to drop out of school because they are out of purpose.
Smith families provide support to disadvantaged families through the Learning for Life program to ease the burden of families so that children can continue to attend school.
If she didn`t get the help, Kamilya Lovett said she might have to be in debt to pay for her four children`s education.
"instead of using textbooks, they are using iPad, a smart device, which is just the beginning of a lot of money."
Do you think there`s a lot of pressure on your children`s education right now? And how do you overcome these problems?
