The exodus from Australia’s public schools is not a quiet migration – it’s an outright stampede.

This dramatic shift, particularly in secondary education, reveals a deep crisis that policymakers, academics, and unions acknowledge superficially but lack the courage to confront head-on.

At the heart of this issue lies the unspoken truth – public schools are increasingly burdened with students facing complex challenges.

While debates often centre on resource disparities between public and private systems, a critical issue that this explanation skirts is the harsher reality.

The true reasons driving families away from public schools are far more demanding and damning than most are willing to admit.

Education lecturer Sally Larsen’s recent essay explored why Australian families increasingly opt for private education.

Her observations, while insightful, skirt the brutal truth. The real drivers of this flight are systemic neglect and the rise of well-funded independent schools, which attract middle-income families with promises of better academic outcomes and stricter discipline.

These promises, while alluring, often rest on shaky foundations, perpetuating myths rather than evidence.

Private schools capitalise on this narrative, systematically excluding students who could challenge their polished image.

Children with disabilities or those exhibiting behavioural challenges are quietly shown the door, with their families told the schools lack “adequate facilities.”

The public system, stretched and stigmatised, picks up the pieces.

Public school teachers refer to these children as “the pope’s weeds”, a cruel acknowledgment of how these students are........

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