Opinion: Cost of school expected

Long gone are the days of free education in New Zealand.

It is so far gone in fact that I have begun to wonder whether there was ever a time it was actually free.

New figures released by Australia Scholarship Group (ASG) show parents with a child starting school this year can expect to fork out $35,213 in school costs by the time their child reaches Year 13.

And that's just public school. If you're flush enough to put your child through private school, you can expect to pay $282,776 for Year 1 to Year 13.

It may come as a shock to some parents, to see all those camp fees, stationery bills and uniform costs totalled up, but the rising cost of education was inevitable.

As Otonga Road Primary School principal Linda Woon said in today's back to school costs story, the grants given to schools barely cover the basics.

But parents and the community have much higher expectations of schools than they did 30 years ago.

It is no longer enough for a child to do reading, writing and maths in school. They also want to learn how to do coding, how to be safe around the water and what happens when you throw a chunk of sodium into the school pool (it explodes in a great white flash in case you were wondering).

These experiences, while not considered core learning, help create well-rounded students ready for a 21st century world.

Parents want that. Society wants that. The Government wants that.

But the problem is, not many people want to pay for that, so it remains in the "extra" pile that schools can provide if you're willing to fork out the dosh for it.

I'm not saying it's right but if we accept the reality that education is no longer free, we will be in a better position to prepare for it.

It is vital we invest in our children and education is one of the most important tools we can provide them.

With a good education we will see our children change the world.