Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/542972
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 19 JULY 2015 6 News REGISTRATION FEES ADMISSION FEES CONTRIBUTION FEES (refundable) Private schools: are parents being served? VERDALA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL ST EDWARD'S COLLEGE SAN ANTON SCHOOL SAN ANDREA SCHOOL CHISWICK HSE & ST MARTIN'S COLLEGE ST MICHAEL'S FOUNDATION ST CATHERINE HIGH SCHOOL THI LAKIN SCHOOL €150 €60 to €750 €35 €35 €116 €15 €795 per family n/a n/a n/a n/a €150 €350 n/a n/a n/a €700 [capital projects] €50 per term, €1,500*** €116 every six years, €1,500 per family €1,300 per child, €820 per sibling €6,898 p.a. €942 €714 €407 €496 €530 €475 €385 €6,898 p.a. €942 €714 €660 €609 €815 €750 €385 €6,898 p.a. €942 €884 €843 €609 €815 €750 €385 €6,898 p.a. €1,296 €884 €871 €960 €815 €790 €385 €6,898 p.a. €1,296 €1,083 €954 €960 €815 €790 €385 €6,898 p.a. €1,296 €1,083 €1,055 €1,100 €815 €820 €385 €7,696 p.a. €1,532 €1,083 €1,105 €1,454 €815 €820 €385 €7,696 p.a. €1,532 €1,083 €1,105 €1,454 €1,350 €950 - €7,696 p.a. €1,532 €1,466 €1,328 €1,454 €1,350 €950 - NOTES St Edward's College charges registration fees of €60 for Kinder 1,2; €815 for junior, middle and senior school; €750 for Sixth Form entry • TOTALS assume spend over an educational span from kinder to Year 12, per child, assuming a year of three terms unless otherwise specified, inclusive of refundable and non-refundable contribution fees. Kindergarten Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 The min- istry's view is that creating league tables would only serve to label schools, teachers and students (SEE BOX). "It may lead to com- petition among the private and independent schools which may unreasonably affect the commer- cial and financial affairs of this sector." MaltaToday's infographic clearly shows the range of prices that pri- vate schools command, although the perception that the independ- ent school network is profit-mak- ing can be misleading. The Independent Schools Asso- ciation has successfully lobbied for tax breaks for parents who send their children to private schools, in a bid to render private educa- tion more affordable as school costs rise. In 2010, an internal ISA report by PricewaterhouseCoopers warned that declining birth rates, and ris- ing salaries for teaching staff, were threatening the schools' very sur- vival. The report found that the schools would need some €17 mil- lion over the next ten years, in the form of tax credits so that parents could keep financing their chil- dren's private education. Independent schools argue that they are more efficient at operat- ing schools (in 2010, the ISA re- port compared costs per student at €1,655 a year, compared to €2,217 for State school students), and that if they were to close down, the cost to absorb these students into the Church and State schools would be as high as €3,000 per head. Private independent schools are already in 'competition' with state and church schools, after the phasing-out of the Junior Lyc- eum entrance exam, and a €20 million church school expansion that created 2,000 new places. On the other hand, the ISA predicted that in 2013 it would see schools losing €1.6 million altogether per annum. The ISA had already ruled out raising school fees, and in 2010 said that recent increases had taken fees "to the limits of afford- ability." Performance driver or dampener? The UK's own obsession with school league tables has been a mixed bag. The National Union of Teachers says international evidence shows that collaboration between schools is more success- ful than competition, and that this can be inhibited by a 'league table mentality'. The UK's league tables label as "underperforming" those second- ary schools where fewer than 40% of their pupils get five GCSEs at grade A*-C, including English and maths. Supporters argue that the tables help drive up standards by increas- ing the accountability of schools and providing valuable informa- tion for parents. Proponents will say that parents willing to spend hard-earned money for their chil- dren's education should have the freedom to choose how to spend it, according to school perform- ance. But as recently as April 2015, re- search commissioned by the UK's National Union of Teachers and carried out by London Metropoli- tan University academics, found that such accountability measures failed to reduce gaps in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and their better-off peers, and instead result in higher levels of stress. 90% of teachers surveyed for the study reported more frequent inci- dents of stress and anxiety suffered by pupils as a result of the intense focus on testing – perhaps some- thing that Maltese schools are al- ready accustomed to. In the last MATSEC examina- tions Church schools clearly out- performed pupils in both state schools and independent schools, in nearly all subjects except for English Language, English Lit- erature and Physical Education, 'Tables lead to a public debasement of schools with very poor results and a low ranking' Education ministry In 2010, the ISA predicted that private schools would be making total losses of €1.6 million and that fees had been stretched to the limits of affordability