An unheard voice in education

'Private schools need to wise up'

A PARENT WRITES:

I've been following the recent debate in The Irish Timesabout fee-paying schools and whether they should receive funds from the State. George Hook made a very good case for the value of these schools and I don't, in principle, object to their funding.

Here’s my problem – even with State support, they are charging way too much.

We’re in the middle of a recession, and all around us the prices for everything are falling. Even crèche fees are coming down. But the private secondary school my son goes to has just put its fees up! How can they justify this? They seem to be operating in some kind of bubble that keeps rising as everything around it sinks. Private schools need to wise up, adjust their prices in line with economic reality and stop treating us like cash cows. Irish people will always prioritise education and will find the money for schooling. We are a captive market. It’s not fair to make us find the money for ski trips and weekend breaks and to keep jacking up the fees. The same parents are having their salaries cut and taxes raised. The salaries of school staff are protected by wage agreements – most of us don’t enjoy the same luxury.

It’s not long since my youngest child finished with childcare; and for €7,000 a year I was getting five days a week, six hours a day with a ratio of six children to each adult. I was never asked for extra money for school trips, and she got all her meals and learning resources into the bargain.

Compare that to my son’s private school where, for more than €6,000 a year, he gets the privilege of schooling but little else: books, uniforms and study resources all have to be paid for separately.

Every school trip (and there are quite a few), costs hundreds more. It doesn’t look to me as if the school is making huge efforts to find the cheapest airline flights or budget accommodation for the kids when they go away. Some of the trips they have done for €500 I could do myself for €200.

It’s as though private school management regard the parents who opt for fees as endless wells of money to be tapped. It’s as if they’ve adopted a “business class” model of schooling – all the frills included, regardless of whether you want them (or can afford them). If you choose private schooling you must be minted, and you can absorb as many “little extras” as they can throw at you.

The truth is, like many parents, I stretch myself to pay these fees and every extra euro they want is a struggle to find.

And what’s worse, they’re now looking for extra fees for Transition Year. Get real.

This column is designed to give a voice to those within the education system who wish to speak out anonymously.

Contributions are welcome: e-mail sflynn@irishtimes.com