P>Parents and welfare agencies recount that rent and mortgage payments are being deferred in favour of school payments. Some parents are racking up education debts on their credit cards.

They blame savage price rises for uniforms and books and computer charges for placing an undue financial burden on many families.

"Education costs have gone through the roof," said Gavin Dufty, research and policy analyst for the Victorian Council of Social Service.

Education costs for Melbourne families have more than doubled over the past decade, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, said Mr Dufty – rising at more than twice the inflation rate.

The price of an education was 102 per cent greater last year than in 1989. During the same period the overall inflation rate increased by 32 per cent. Just over 3.5 per cent of household weekly expenditure went on education costs last year, compared to 0.89 per cent in 1989.

Mr Dufty said these figures took into account fees and levies in government and private schools across the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.

He said changes in weekly household expenditure patterns showed that, compared to other family outlays, education costs were "outstanding". VCOSS research shows that parents had to raise an average of $1230 for a year 7 boy to start school in 2001 and $1346 for a girl.

These figures did not take into account the cost of buying a computer, he said. "Any kid who is over 13 is going to need a computer. Basically, we are requiring our children and their parents to set up a home office for them to complete educational tasks."

Susan Hughes, executive officer of the Victorian Parents' Council, which represents parents in independent schools, agreed that computer costs were "financially trying".

Fees at some independent schools had also risen by 8 per cent this year, she said.

Lynne Reddon, president of Parents Victoria, said the government school pupils her group represents were now expected to pay levies for school libraries, photocopying, books, computers and first-aid, as well as charges for materials used in home economics and technology classes.

Updating textbooks was the most significant outlay, she said.

Terry Green, manager of the State schools' Relief Fund Committee, said the fund had experienced a surge in demand for help to buy books and uniforms.

"I've got a pile of applications I can't jump over," he said.

This year, Mr Green expects the committee will help 6000 students at a cost of over $350,000. Last year it spent $320,000. "And we rely entirely on donations."

Marilyn Webster, from the Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service's social policy research unit, said the impact of soaring education costs was being borne at the cost of other family necessities.

In a forthcoming report, Who Pays For User Pays, Good Shepherd researchers found many families saved money for school excursions and fees by trimming their food budgets, cutting back on outings or delaying rent or utility bills.

"It's an incredible juggling act that these parents perform," Ms Webster said. "They have as strong a commitment to their kids' education as middle or higher-income families."

Father Joe Caddy, director of Catholic Social Services, said the Victorian Government's education maintenance allowance was "vital" to many low-income families, but had not increased since its introduction in 1989.

The allowance is paid to holders of pensioner concession cards or health care cards and is $127 for primary children and $254 for secondary students.

More than 200,000 children - or one in four state students - receive the allowance at a cost of more than $35 million.

A Uniting Church report asserts that if the EMA had been indexed to the ABS cost-of-education index, it would be $254 for a primary student and $456 for a secondary student yearly.

VCOSS is lobbying for an increase for primary students to $257 and $515 for secondary students, indexed yearly.

A government review of the allowance had been due for release at the end of 2001, but a government spokesman, Mat Dunkley, said its publication date was not fixed.

"Once the EMA policy process has been completed the consultant's report will be released," he said.

The Victorian Education Department was working with researcher Professor Don Edgar "to develop policy options for the minister's consideration". The allowance was being examined to ensure it was directed at families most in need, Mr Dunkley said.

Father Caddy said that if children "on the margins of the school community" could not afford up-to-date uniforms and books it would make them feel "more on the outer".

"This only compounds the difficulty of keeping vulnerable young people at school," he said.

Recent research from the Australian Council for Educational Research said that students' socioeconomic background was a bigger factor in determining their ENTERs than the type of school they attended, he said.

"Penny" and her partner live in Melbourne and have three children. Their income is about $1400 a fortnight, which includes a full-time casual wage. The family finds school costs at times "really tight". "(It means) we just eat sausages and potatoes for a few days – you adapt to it. It's all about juggling."

Primary school costs include:

Camps $120

Source: Case studies from Good Shepherd and Youth Service.

 Printer friendly version      Email to a friend

top