Independent education: The future way ahead

The future of independent schools is at risk because they are becoming increasingly unaffordable to the majority of Maltese families. There are few things that can compete with high quality education for the top place in the list of priorities of our families. Many parents believe that private education is the best option available for their children.

Liberal educators get hot under the collar when confronted with this reality that they claim is only based on perceptions and snobbery. But the silent majority of parents disagree and insist that they should have a right to chose where to educate their children. As they also pay taxes for the state to provide free education for all, they expect that some of the tax they pay is invested to support them in their choice of education.

The local debate on educational issues is often as interesting as watching paint dry. Yet, few would disagree that unless we upgrade our educational system, we risk economic failure in the next few decades. The debate on whether state education is superior to private education can only lead to confrontation between the opposite camps. To avoid this sterile process we must concentrate on some fundamental issues that can lead us to define the way forward for the upgrading of our educational system.

Parents have a fundamental right to chose where to educate their children. This right can only be exercised if parents have the financial means to pay the bills of the independent schools where they would like their children to be educated. The fact that parents pay their taxes, partly to finance their children’s education in the state system, gives them a moral right to expect support from the government that should uphold their right of choice.

The reality today is very different. Today’s independent schools are elitist not by choice, but through the economic reality that few families can really afford to send their children to these schools, despite some financial support by the government in the form of tax rebates. This is socially unjust.

I also find disturbing the independent schools’ insistence that any state aid given to parents should be “without conditions” as this may jeopardise their independence. The independence of these schools will not be put at risk if the state insists on certain minimum conditions being met to ensure that public funds are used in a way that is accountable to the taxpayer and guarantees value for money in the form of academic achievement. Schools who still disagree with these minimum controls can always opt out of any scheme that supports parents through state aid.

There are some who argue that a scheme of educational vouchers that cover the full tuition fees of private schooling, as the one adopted by Sweden in the early 1990s, will still be elitist. They insist that under this system there will still be families that will not afford to cover the extra expenditure on private education not covered by the vouchers. I agree that this is a valid concern.

But even today we have a situation where many families cannot afford to send their children to state schools because they cannot afford to pay for their exam fees or even their text books. Waiting for all families to move up the social ladder is a sure way to perpetuate the lack of innovation and initiatives to promote social mobility.

The affordability of any system that gives parents the right to chose where to educate their children with the help of the state will, in the long term, not be an issue. There will, of course, be a need to optimise the supply of educational facilities to eliminate any excess capacity. There will also be a need to introduce better school management systems to hardwire cost efficiency in the running of all schools, whether in the private or public sector.

The mere mention of competition in education can send shivers down the spine of some educators. But it must be acknowledged that taxpayers’ interests should be safeguarded by ensuring that non-performing educators and their managers are not treated as sacred cows that are untouchable.

The time is ripe for parents to be assisted more adequately to educate their children in upgraded state schools, or religious schools run by the Church, or independent schools that provide a secular education. As long as student enrolment is on an egalitarian basis, then this is surely the way ahead for independent schools.

jcassarwhite@yahoo.com