School fees to rise following passage of carbon tax

The passage of the carbon tax means that schools will be left in the lurch with additional costs and no compensation, Christopher Pyne, Shadow Minister for Education said today.

“The Gillard Government has not offered or included any provisions for schools to offset additional costs resulting from the carbon tax,” Mr Pyne said.

“These costs will have to be passed onto parents or cut from school budgets,” he said.

The schools sector estimates that the carbon tax could cost an additional $60 per student per year.

“Parents who already scrimp and save to send their children to non-government schools may find higher school fees impossible to manage on top of rising household costs, such as increases in grocery and energy bills,” Mr Pyne said.

“Similarly government schools will be forced to recoup additional costs by cutting spending, such as equipment, maintenance or even staff, which will directly impact on the quality of education,” he said.

“For example, a government school with 1,000 students might be forced to lay-off a teacher to cover the additional expense resulting from the carbon tax.

“The introduction of a carbon tax could not have come at a worse time for parents, teachers and students,” Mr Pyne said.

November 8, 2011

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