There is a strong element of chicken-and-egg in all this public vs private business.

Is it the fact that the public system fails first, and the private sector then has to step in to deliver to the standards the public want? Or is it that the private sector is encouraged to sap the resources from the public system, and consequently create the gap in the first place?

Personally, I believe that the State should provide quality education for all children. I believe also that it should provide a quality health service, quality public transport systems, quality water supplies, quality communication systems, quality power supplies etc. etc. that are paid for by the public through the taxation system.

But I'm clearly whistling in the wind. Quality isn't a word that is permitted in public service speak. It's equality, in whose name of course everything ends up in the bin of the lowest common denominator.

As a result, one by one, these essential services are being sold off to the highest commercial bidder, who then charge us a fee for those services that includes shareholder dividends and fat-cat directors' salaries.

We allowed it to happen, and therefore have no right to complain. Education has become "just another service product", so that those who choose to make the sacrifice, can access the quality of education that their wallets will allow.

The mantra is now "user choice" and "user pays".

But the fact is that in the education system at least, both of these could be satisfied by a well-designed voucher system that leaves the money - and the choice - in the hands of the parents, with the onus on the schools then to provide the product that those parents want.

Will it happen?

Not while the debate is carried on at an ideological level, as opposed to a practical and pragmatic level, it won't.

Here we go. These articles are always so one sided. Never do they mention the fact that parents who send their kids to private schools not only pay for the privilege but are also paying for other parents to send their kids free to public schools.

And as to the assertion that private school kids rank higher in the education stakes because they receive more money is baloney. The simple fact is that at a private school you get an education, at a public school you get an ideology.

The article and comments seem to be about public versus private but the real question is, how do we improve performance for as many as possible?
This is fundamental and the answer cannot be about eliminating one sector of education providers.
That's why I have never understood why vouchering is a dirty word.
What children need is not fewer educational options but more, each catering to particular needs. Not all children learn in the same way or at the same pace. Not all have the same aptitudes or interests.
Surely it makes sense to take enrolments and the money that comes along with it to whichever provider offers the bext environment for their needs. Make the money portable and you'll find out which schools parents think are doing a good job.
Disadvantage can be addressed by adding weighting - you're from a non-english speaking background - voucher + 10%, you're aboriginal - voucher plus 15%, you have diagnosed learning difficulties - voucher plus 20%. Whatever the numbers disadvantage can be addressed - and the power given to the parents to find the right school for their children - public or private - and take their voucher there!
The market will decide which schools offer programs desired by families and which don't. This system rewards performance and encourages excellence - all the while doing it efficiently.
Of course, there would need to be some rationalisation of State/Federal funding but funding schools solely on how effective they are in gaining enrollments makes sense - and doesn't discriminate except for the types of issues mentioned above.
As the parent of four children I would soon find out what schools offered what programs and would enrol my kids in the appropriate schools for their particular needs. What parent wouldn't? Why can't our education funding system support this?

Taxpayers' dollars are indeed funding private education. The question must be put: is the money following the students into private education or are the students following the money into private education?

My children went to public and private schools but that was in the days before left wing socialism became the norm and stuffed up the state school system.
Now the difference in teaching AND learning is becoming very plain, most thinking parents would prefer not to send their kids to state schools because they are failing their students.It is as simple as that.

Francis/ena – church schools in the UK do receive 100% funding but have to meet 100% of the obligations which go with it. They don’t charge fees, have to accept all kids, have much the same level of resources. Doesn’t seem like a bad idea? Jane says that our private schools are up to 80% funded but still charge fees – looks like double dipping to me AND a recipe for neatly dividing kids into those who can afford fees and those who can’t.

This is why I fully agree with what ena says. I can’t imagine private schools going for such as “all in” system……they wouldn’t be able to be “private” and being private partly means deciding who you will enroll and who you won’t.

I wonder how most private schools/systems would react if governments made an offer to fund them fully in exchange for a full set of obligations. I bet you wouldn’t see them for dust. Mind you, I am not sure if I want my kids to go to a local state school which subscribes to a particular religion.

Pericles and JS Mill – I partly agree – it really is a vicious circle, but one which needs to be broken somewhere. But I don’t agree with vouchers. Don’t we have a voucher system now? The money does follow the kids as some sort of entitlement….. it isn’t physically given to the parents first but the effect is the same. I have heard some people support vouchers but they just don’t seem to be able to show where on earth (literally) it actually works, without private schools asking parents to top up the vouchers with fees…..which is precisely our current problem. The idea of vouchers might make people feel good but let’s deal with evidence!