Quote:
Originally Posted by Duelist925
They provide a necessary public service that practically everyone uses, and furthermore, public schools are tax funded--it'd be silly to tax them.
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Over here, there's a common argument that private schools need to stop double-dipping in funding (that is, they get way too much funding per child). Taxed yes, funded minimally.
Unfortunately, this is a requirement of the state/country to ensure that every kid is actually learning the same thing more or less, and also to allow governments to track student progress. At the same time, it also flies in the face of the part in the Australian constitution that states that states shall not fund religion.
There are very few private schools in Aussieland that are not religious ones. The ones that aren't tend to either:
-Be for a specific group of students (at-risk kids, Aboriginal children, bilingual school, special school)
-Montessori.
-Steiner/Waldorf. (Some public schools will run streams in either program, when this happens, the schools are required to allow ALL students to receive the same opportunities if they wish ie they can't forbid students from learning a stringed instrument while the Steiner kids are required to do so)
-Run some other alternate program that I can't list here. (usually "progressive" education groups)
-Run a program that is NOT religious, but shows some elements of it. (For instance, there's one school where meditation is actively encouraged and is part of their day)