We use cookies to improve your experience on our site and to show you personalised advertising. To find out more, read our privacy policy and cookie policy

Skip to Content
University of Wollongong Australia. Logo. University of Wollongong Australia. Logo. University of Wollongong Australia. Logo.
  • Search
  • Give
  • Library
  • Current Students
  • Staff
  • UOW Global
    • Our global presence
    • UOW in Dubai
    • UOW in Hong Kong
    • UOW in Malaysia
  • Menu
  • Study at UOW

    • Courses
    • Apply
    • Scholarships & grants
    • Accommodation
    • High-school students
    • Non-school leavers
    • Postgraduate students
    • International students
    • Moving to Wollongong
    • Study abroad & exchange
    • Global sport programs
    • Campuses
    Study at UOW
  • Engage

    • Future student
    • Alumni
    • Visit UOW
    • Woolyungah Indigenous Centre
    • Volunteer
    • The Stand Magazine
    • Community Members
    • Grants and funding
    • Give to UOW
    • Visit the Library
    • Key contacts
    • Educators & school teachers
    Engage with us
  • About UOW

    • Welcome
    • Our people
    • Services
    • Contacts
    • What's on
    • Global presence
    • Media Centre
    • Faculties & schools
    • Our vision & strategy
    • Our Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Strategy
    • Our reputation & experience
    • Locations, campuses & partners
    See more about UOW
  • Research

    • Our research
    • Researcher support
    • Research impact
    • Partnership & collaboration
    • Graduate Research School
    • Commercial research
    • Global Challenges
    • Media, news & events
    • Find an expert
    • Our people
    See more about research
  • Industry

    • Generator Lab
    • Advantage SME
    • Success stories
    • Industry research engagement
    • Equipment & Labs
    • Funding opportunities
    • Intellectual property
    • Collaboration for business
    • Collaboration for researchers
    • Careers and employability
    See more about Industry
  • Alumni

    • Benefits
    • Outlook Magazine
    • Events & webinars
    • Volunteer
    • Awards
    • Honorary alumni
    • Testamurs & transcripts
    • Update your details
    • Your career journey
    • Contact us & FAQ
    See more about alumni
  • Quick links

    • Contact directory
    • Staff Intranet
    • Campus maps
    • Transport & parking
    • Key dates
    • Events
    • Password management
    • Jobs
    • Accommodation
    • Policy directory
  • Library
You are here More Pages
  • Home
  • About UOW
  • Media Centre
  • 2020
  • Some private schools need to change their models — they were losing students even before COVID

Media Quick Links

  • Contact UOW Media
  • Visiting campus
  • Image library
  • UOW key facts
  • Find an expert
  • News Corp subscription
  • Sign up for the latest news from UOW Media

October 1, 2020


  • Story By
  • Paul Kidson
  • Photo By
  • Shutterstock
Share
Type
Opinion Pieces
Category
Education
Tags
EducationSocial Sciences

UOW in the News

Some private schools need to change their models — they were losing students even before COVID

Australian private schools have reported lower interest from prospective parents due to the financial pressures of COVID-19, but is there more to the problem?


Some Australian private schools have reported lower interest from prospective parents due to the financial pressures of COVID-19.

A number of Victorian school principals have also called on the state government to re-open borders to international students. They say there’s a possibility schools may be forced to close, due to severe financial distress from the non-return of students.

But the cause of the problem may lie not so much in COVID border closures but in fragile business and financial models adopted by some schools.

It was getting worse before COVID

Some schools with large boarding communities, including The King’s School and St Joseph’s College in Sydney, have accessed JobKeeper payments as their income met the 30% downturn threshold, while their total income is fewer than A$1 billion. These schools enrol large numbers of regional and rural students, as well as international students.

The last few years have also seen a steady increase in weekly boarders — who come from families for whom juggling work and study is facilitated by boarding, even when they live in relative proximity to the school.

The costs associated with running these residential facilities is significant, so it’s unsurprising the loss of boarding income for these schools is acute.

The loss of international student enrolments for most schools, though, is unlikely to cause many of these schools to reach the 30% downturn threshold. The Australian Boarding Schools’ Association notes only 10% of its 21,000 residential students are from overseas. With these smaller numbers, some principals now find themselves with an increasingly stressed financial situation and little direct support.

This is not new, as the history of the global financial crisis shows. In the five years between 2008 to 2013, international student enrolments in Australian schools fell from 28,291 to 17,739. The number of new enrolments also fell from 14,281 to 8,753. Both represent nearly 40% declines — far in excess of the 18% decline of international school enrolments reported by Austrade in July 2020.

And international school enrolments flatlined over the period 2016-2019, even as the higher education and vocational education sectors increased by more than 30% across the same period.


Read more: Five charts on Catholic school enrolments: they're trending down while Australia's population booms


Independent Schools Australia, the peak advocacy body for schools where most international students enrol, also notes while overall international education enrolments increased by 9.7% in 2019 from the year before, international student enrolments in non-government schools declined by 4.7% in the same period.

The case for government intervention due to COVID weakens somewhat in light of these data.

Some private schools need to rethink their models

Parental choice — often the preferred ground of legitimacy for non-government schools — may also require some principals to rethink the sustainability of their models. International enrolments are not subsidised by the Australian government and their fees can be very high compared to domestic students. For example, Wesley College in Melbourne charges A$42,850 for international students in Years 9 to 12 (not including the additional $27,000 for boarding), while domestic students in Year 10 to 12 are charged $34,610.

A reduction of this income can have a significant and material impact on school operations. When parents cannot afford the fees, they will shift their child’s enrolment to a school with more sustainable fee levels.

When school enrolments deteriorate, there is significant human cost to teachers, administration and support staff. That loss, while painful for those directly impacted, could be a gain for other schools in both government and non-government sectors.


Read more: The UK Labour Party wants to abolish private schools – could we do that in Australia?


As enrolments drift elsewhere, so too does the need to increase staffing in those schools to accommodate additional enrolments. The data above suggest solutions will need to emerge from within the schools themselves as they did post-GFC, rather than from government.

The non-government school sector has long benefited from the marketisation of education in Australia. The challenge now is how some schools will reconfigure their operations in light of these changing circumstances. If they do not, or cannot, the future looks quite dire.

In response to COVID-related financial pressures, some private schools have reportedly offered fee cuts and deferrals, and asked alumni to help pay the fees of students at risk of quitting due to economic pressures in the family.

The rapid growth of UK independent school partnerships in China is also providing an increasing range of options for parents seeking international education experience.

Some private schools will likely need to adjust their staffing levels as their enrolments change; if they can do so successfully, their future may be more secure, if not quite the future those school communities and principals may have envisaged.

Such is the logic of market-driven policy.The Conversation

Paul Kidson, Lecturer in Educational Leadership, University of Wollongong

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

UOW academics exercise academic freedom by providing expert commentary, opinion and analysis on a range of ongoing social issues and current affairs. This expert commentary reflects the views of those individual academics and does not necessarily reflect the views or policy positions of the University of Wollongong.

Media Contacts for this article

UOW Media Office

You may also be interested in

UOW goes global
Early Start’s Festival of Digital Play focuses on opportunities and challenges for technology
Accelerated degree to address staff shortages in early childhood sector
Services & Help
  • Current students
  • Library
  • Information technology
  • Accommodation
  • Security & safety
  • Pool, gym & retail
News, Media & Events
  • Media Centre
  • The Stand
  • Alumni Magazine
  • Research news
  • Events
  • Find an expert
Faculties
  • Arts, Social Sciences & Humanities
  • Business & Law
  • Engineering & Information Sciences
  • Science, Medicine & Health
Administration
  • Graduation
  • Environment
  • Policy directory
  • Learning and teaching
  • Financial Services
  • Access to information
  • Jobs
UOW Entities
  • Innovation Campus
  • UOW College Australia
  • UOW College Hong Kong
  • UOW in Dubai
  • UOW Global Enterprises
  • UOW Malaysia KDU
  • UOW Pulse
Connect with us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Conversation
  • Contact us
  • Feedback
  • Give to UOW

Northfields Ave Wollongong,  NSW 2522  Australia 
Phone: 1300 367 869 
International: +61 2 4221 3218 
Switchboard: +61 2 4221 3555

  • NUW Alliance: Smarter Solutions for NSW
  • University Global Partnership Network (UGPN)
  • Reconciliation Australia
  • AWEI LGBTQ inclusion awards logo

Aboriginal flag Torres Strait Islander flag

On the lands that we study, we walk, and we live, we acknowledge and respect the traditional custodians and cultural knowledge holders of these lands.

Copyright © 2023 University of Wollongong
CRICOS Provider No: 00102E | TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12062 | ABN: 61 060 567 686
Copyright & disclaimer | Privacy & cookie usage | Web Accessibility Statement

Close