An end to free education ?

One of the things that makes Australians proud is the right of every Australian child to receive a free education in a government school.    Of course this is not strictly true.   Our schools are grossly underfunded and parents are constantly putting their hand in their pocket to supplement essentials - and to cover the needs for excursions and sport.

But basically, if your child attends a state primary or high school you are not presented with a bill for school fees - but it seems that is now about to change.

From next year, children  attending pre-schools attached to state public primary schools will be required to pay a fee of up to $ 40 per day - and this will be tailored to the socio-economic status of the place where the school is located.    For instance, that full $ 40 a day will apply to schools in Sydney's more affluent suburbs, but schools in Wilcannia will be free - and here in the Illawarra the charge  will be somewhere in the $ 10 to $ 30 a day bracket.

For some people, this new fee will be the dividing line between survival and financial disaster.    In many households now the option of both partners working is no longer a matter of choice.    We have savage cost rises creeping through the electricity/gas/water essentials - and food prices have been rising at a much higher rate than inflation.   At the same time, salaries are not moving in tandem.

It seems that the state government is applying a fee to public pre-schools for the first time on the notion that they are merely " child minding centres " - and as such are removed from the mainstream " learning " of the public school system.

The fact that fees will vary according to the socio-economic status of each district is an ominous warning that means testing may one day apply to education.    If " ability to pay " becomes the criteria for accepting children into schools without presenting a bill, then the days of free education for all are over !

It seems that both ends of the education spectrum are under pressure.  Many people contend that university education should be free, but we are seeing a never ending battle of higher fees, crippling HECS and course cut backs to make education money go the distance - and now the pre-schools at the other end are getting hit with fees for the first time.

The main casualty here will be working women.   For those with more than one child this imposition could be a sheer financial disaster.    Surely this is an issue on which the public should make it's position clear to the state government well before the start of term in 2012.