Explained: Why Aussie public schools are losing students to private education

For the Poudel family, education is a priority. So, when it came time for Anwesh to head to high school, his parents didn’t want to leave it to chance and decided to pay to send their son to a private school.

And so far, it’s paid off.

They’re part of a growing trend of families opting for independent education.

The last five years have seen a surge in private school enrolments, with the public system losing students in South Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory.

New South Wales state schools are haemorrhaging students.

“We considered public school as well, but we wanted to make sure that the children grew up with the good environment and good discipline, and good moral values, and all that,” Anwesh’s mother Anju Poudel told 10 News+.

“So, that’s the reason we decided to send him to the Christian school.”

A Christian school, despite the family being Hindu.

“At first I didn’t want to do it, but once I started learning about Christianity, I started really liking the religion, learning a lot of things about their morals, their values, and I learnt a lot about the Bible and stories in the Bible,” Anwesh said.

Interfaith education is growing too, with 86 per cent of private school students attending a faith-based school.

Despite a third of students not being religious, others study a religion that’s not their own.