Arjay, I realize I am wasting my time asking, but having been challenged on your statement "[i]f all the private schools both Catholic and religious others were closed tomorrow,our Govt would have to increase taxes immensely", I think it would be polite of you either to retract it with an apology, or provide some justification.

The reason I am reluctant to let you off the hook is that this is classic propaganda material, which you have perpetuated without thought or question. It has become such a regular feature of our everyday lives; I hear something that chimes with my beliefs, and then mindlessly regurgitate the next time I'm down the pub.

It is good practice to be sensitive to the glib "if... then" statements which tend precede many a specious (sorry Boaz) argument.

To iterate one point, I made earlier, "academic" utility is best served by matching the best and most appropriate teachers with the correct student populations. This just described circumstance does not occur under the private versus public system. Therefore, the public system must pay its teachers on merit; enrichen the high performers and sack all lazy, incompetent, underskilled dregs. Herein, "A"s must count for more that straw hats. Meritocracy over crony "old school tie"? Guess, I am a dreamer.

Moreover, challenged students need the greatest opportunuity to develop their full potential.

So we pay taxes, the private schools access those taxes to build infrastructure, and then that "company" pay cash dividends to share-holders who send their kids to private schools. Profit and education can work - for some.

Rancid, you identify a relevant population cum classification "for some". But is that "some" the most deserving? Should not the best resources be targeted at the most capable? With non-selective private schools, we have the best resources directed towards a normative population.

No - Oliver, we have the best resources directed at a "normative" population that can afford it. The public system does not exclude people according to disposable income. Not to worry - have you heard that the latest trend is for those who can afford private education and who would rather be a good parent than hold down a dozen jobs and leave it to the education system to teach their kids morals etc. are setting that money aside to help their youngsters into their first home instead. Perhaps when the fold return to the public education sector the government will be more enthusiastic about directing decent funding towards the unqualified normative population.

Read the front page of the SMH today (6/4/05) and it seems these exclusive private and selective schools don't do as good a job at actually educating kids as public comprehensive schools. They're great for hothousing them up to an exam, but 3 studies (in Britain, WA and now Melbourne) agree that kids from public comprehensive schools do better at Uni than their more privileged counterparts.
How sad so many well meaning parents are actually being sold a very expensive pup.
Perhaps, profit in education these days refers to what the school gets, not the students.