PARENTS WHO send their children to fee-paying schools are being “penalised’’ for their commitment to their children’s education, a school principal said yesterday.
Ken Whyte, principal of Presentation College, Mardyke, Cork, said parents who decided to commit after-tax income to their child’s education instead of spending it on something else were the focus of unfair criticism.
His comments came as Department of Education officials begin an audit into how fee-paying schools spend the estimated €120 million they receive in gross fee income.
The audit has been ordered by Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn amid concern among Labour grassroots about the additional €100 million in State subsidy received by the sector to pay teacher salaries.
The Teachers’ Union of Ireland has welcomed the inquiry into what it termed “this huge subvention of privilege”.
John MacGabhann, TUI general secretary, said: “Now more than ever, it is unacceptable that the State should sponsor privilege. We anticipate that any fair report to the Minister will surely find it completely unconscionable that large numbers of these schools continue to enjoy the unfair benefits of a double-funding mechanism.”
On RTÉ’s News at One yesterday, Mr Whyte stressed how private schools do not receive capitation and other supports available to their counterparts in the State sector. Private schools, he said, must pay for their own maintenance, refurbishments, heating, light and other costs.
Mr MacGabhann said each pupil in a State school generated capitation payments of only about €900 a year. With fees averaging about €5,000 a year, private schools still enjoyed huge discretionary income – even after all costs have been paid. In his view, private schools could afford to pay their own teachers and still retain some profit.
The audit is designed to distinguish between private schools which have significant discretionary income and those – like many Protestant boarding schools – that are struggling to survive.
Mr MacGabhann said he would draw a distinction between the bulk of fee-paying schools and those minority-faith schools which often depend on State funding to survive. “Clearly, these must continue to be appropriately supported.”
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, which has members in both fee-paying and non fee-paying schools, has made no comment on the audit.
Labour Party members are putting pressure on Mr Quinn to scale down or eliminate State support for private education. Ireland is one of the few countries where the salaries of those teaching in the private fee-charging sector are paid by the State.
While a huge strain on parents, the cost of private education in Ireland is still relatively inexpensive compared to Britain and the US. In these countries, fees of €15,000 a term are not unusual as schools must pay their own teachers.
In Ireland, private schools use fee income to provide a range of additional teaching, as well as pastoral and extracurricular services to pupils. Many recruit additional teachers at their own expense.
In practice, private schools can have smaller class sizes and greater subject choice than their counterparts in the State sector.
