School fees cripple parents

THE cost of schooling our children is rocketing as the computer generation gobbles record amounts of money.

Melbourne's education expenses have soared by an average 70 per cent in a decade - twice the inflation rate.

Parents desperate to give their kids a career and social headstart from kindergarten are pouring extra cash into technology, camps, music, dance and sport.

The budget blowout has upped the pressure on grandparents to kick in for education funds.

An Australian Scholarships Group report reveals Victorians sending a child to a government secondary school will shell out up to $5444 this year on fees, books, clothes, trips, travel and other expenses.

Putting a child through a Catholic secondary school now costs up to $11,880, while the private system is up to $22,480 on average each year. Primary school is up to $4714 for government, $6642 for Catholic, and $14,986 for private.

Even kindergarten will hit the kitty, with costs of up to $2913 for government, $4686 for Catholic and $7417 for private.

The total sting per child, from starting kindergarten this year through to year 12, is now up to $93,170 for state schools, up to $187,800 for Catholic, and up to $390,990 for private.

The latest cost shock comes as more than 840,000 students prepare to return to classrooms across Victoria.

ASG's community adviser, Michelle Hunder, said education continued to outpace inflation at an alarming rate, pushing up costs for families irrespective of school type.

"Sadly, this means more pressure and more unfulfilled education dreams," she said.

"Families wanting to provide for their children's education need to prioritise planning and saving."

St Vincent de Paul Society analysis shows the cost of secondary education in Melbourne surged 75 per cent between 2000 and the September quarter last year.

Preschool and primary costs shot up 66 per cent.

In the past year alone, school costs raced 10 times ahead of the general cost of living.

Parents Victoria spokeswoman Elaine Crowle said some schools were actively reducing costs for families, such as hiring out class book sets.

- Karen Collier, Herald Sun 05 Jan 2010