School fees debate rages

By Sarah Schwager
A LIST of voluntary school fees, published in the Herald Sun on Monday, has received a mixed reaction from Casey schools.
Narre Warren South P12 College principal Ross Miller said the figures had to be looked at both from the additional services the school provided and how many students were enrolled.
“It’s all around that question of free education,” Mr Miller said.
“There’s never been free education. It’s the instruction that is free, even though taxpayers are paying.”
He said the figures did not take into account the size of the school, for example with Eumemmerring College.
Eumemmerring College was the sixth highest on the list of voluntary contributions received, behind government schools such as Melbourne High and MacRobertson Girls High, yet Eumemmerring College has four campuses in the area.
Mr Miller said the voluntary fee at Narre Warren South included additional services, such as music lessons, camps, and the school’s popular outdoor education course, including rock climbing, abseiling and caving, which cost $250 a semester.
He said some students also did VET courses, some of which were as high as $600, which were often run at other institutions.
Mr Miller said the school’s voluntary fees were comparatively low with 1700 students at the school, and the figures could have a negative impact on government schools.
“(The Federal Government) are not encouraging people to do these programs. A lot of the students who would be involved in these programs come from lowincome families and cannot afford $1100,” Mr Miller said.
“It all comes down to the ability of someone to pay.”
Doveton Heights Primary School principal Jill Higgins said the figures did not reflect the school’s voluntary fees at all. She said the fees went towards booklists and school equipment for the students.
“We provide all books for children so parents don’t have to buy them,” she said.
Ms Higgins said parents paid for excursions and other activities as they went along.
“Otherwise the figure would be much higher,” she said.
“I’m not sure where they (Department of Education and Training) get those figures from.”
A Department of Education and Training spokeswoman said the figures, which were obtained from the Department by the Herald Sun through Freedom of Information, had to be looked at cautiously.
“Voluntary fees in schools mean exactly that. They’re voluntary,” she said.
“If any parent feels they are being forced to pay they should contact the Department.”
She said voluntary fees were not spent on core subjects but on elective subjects such as music lessons and excursions.
She said to give some average figures, voluntary fees per student in Victoria were at about $100 per student.
“Voluntary fees on average are only 1.3 per cent of any government school’s budget,” she said.