School dropouts and the public v private funding gap: five takeaways from the Productivity Commission’s education report

Government funding to private schools rose by 15% in a single year – and is vastly outpacing funding to public schools, the Productivity Commission found. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

School refusal is on the rise, teenagers are dropping out at record rates and public schools are continuing to lose out on funding.

The Productivity Commission’s latest report on education services, released Monday night, is grim reading for the sector, as governments grapple to close disadvantage gaps across the nation.