Independent School Enrolments Up 18 Percent Over Five Years, Public Schools Up Just 1 Percent

School students arrive for the first day of face-to-face school in Brisbane, on May 11, 2020. AAP Image/Dan Peled

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveals private and catholic school enrolments have dramatically outpaced public schools.

In the last five years, student enrolments in independent schools have increased by 18.5 percent, compared to a 1 percent jump for government school enrolments. Catholic school enrolments also rose 6.6 percent between 2019 to 2024.

Overall enrolments in schools were 4.6 percent higher in 2024 compared to 2019.

The ABS statistics, released on Feb. 17, show that 4.1 million students overall were enrolled at 9,653 schools in 2024.

In that year alone, there was a 2.7 percent increase in non-government school registrations compared to the previous year. Government school enrolments in contrast, grew by just 0.2 percent in a year.

New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory all recorded a decline in public school enrolments compared to 2023.

Retention Rates Have Increase Overall, Non-Government Schools Lead

Meanwhile, Australia recorded an overall retention rate to year 12 of 79.9 percent in 2024, up from 79.1 percent in 2023. The retention rate was higher among females at 83.5 percent compared to 76.5 percent for males.

The amount of students continuing to year 12 was also much higher among private schools than public schools.

Independent schools recorded a 96.6 percent year 12 retention rate, compared to 81.6 percent for Catholic schools, and 74.1 percent in government schools.

The ABS noted for the first time since 2017, there has been a yearly rise in the number of students staying in high school.

The head of ABS education statistics Cassandra Elliot claimed the growth in proportion of students was “largely driven by students at government schools, which was up 1.3 percentage points to 74.3 percent in 2024.”

“This compared to a 0.9 percentage point rise to 88.1 percent for students at non-government schools,” she said.

Teaching Ratio Improving

The amount of teaching staff also rose by 2.8 percent in 2024 to 320,377 full time staff. Of those, 230,809 teachers were female and 89,569 male in 2024.

“With a rise in the number of teaching staff, the average student-to-teacher ratio across Australian schools fell to a new low since 2006 of 12.9 students to one teacher,” Elliot added.

“Independent schools had the lowest student-to-teacher ratios with 11.7 students to one teacher. Meanwhile, government and Catholic schools had 13.1 and 13.3 students to one teacher respectively.”

Minister’s Stance

Minister for Education Jason Clare described the increasing retention rates up to year 12 as “good news.”

“We want more young people to finish school and then go on to TAFE or university. We are now finally seeing this head in the right direction for the first time in almost a decade,” he said in a statement.

“We are also seeing more teachers in the classroom and more people wanting to become a teacher.”

Clare also noted analysis of preliminary data from the Department of Education showed a boost in the number of students wanting to study education.

He said the tertiary admission centres showed a 7 percent rise in applications, along with a 14 percent jump in offers compared to 2024.

Clare said the federal, state, and territory governments had been working to tackle the teacher shortage via the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan.

“Many states and territories have delivered significant pay increases for the teaching profession over the past two years. They have also taken important steps to help reduce teacher workload.,” he said.

Coalition Concerned About Curriculum Content

Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson described the curriculum as overcrowded, too complex, and infused with ideology.

She said the federal opposition’s analysis showed an abundance of support to include “sustainability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, and Australia’s engagement with Asia” into teaching lessons.

“For instance, in Year 2, maths teachers are encouraged to use ”First Nations Australians“ stories and dances to understand the balance and connection between addition and subtraction,” she said in a statement.

“Year 10 maths teachers are encouraged to apply Pythagoras’s theorem by exploring ‘navigation, design of technologies or surveying by First Nations Australians, investigating geometric and spatial reasoning, and how these connect in trigonometry.’”