Private school Private schools , also known as independent school s or nonstate schools , are not administered by local , state or national government s ; thus , they retain the right to select their student s and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students tuition , rather than relying on mandatory taxation through public ( government ) funding ; at some private schools students may be able to get a scholarship , which makes the cost cheaper , depending on a talent the student may have e . g . sport scholarship , art scholarship , academic scholarship etc . Private schools are typically more expensive than their public counterparts . In the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries including Australia and Canada , the use of the term is generally restricted to primary and secondary educational levels ; it is almost never used of universities and other tertiary institutions . Private education in North America covers the whole gamut of educational activity , ranging from pre - school to tertiary level institutions . Annual tuition fees at K - 12 schools range from nothing at so called ' tuition - free ' schools to more than $ 45 , 000 at several New England preparatory school s . The secondary level includes schools offering years 7 through 12 ( year twelve is known as lower sixth ) and year 13 ( upper sixth ) . This category includes university - preparatory school s or " prep schools " , boarding schools and day schools . Tuition at private secondary schools varies from school to school and depends on many factors , including the location of the school , the willingness of parents to pay , peer tuitions and the school ' s financial endowment . High tuition , schools claim , is used to pay higher salaries for the best teachers and also used to provide enriched learning environments , including a low student to teacher ratio , small class sizes and services , such as libraries , science laboratories and computer s . Some private schools are boarding school s and many military academies are privately owned or operated as well . Religiously affiliated and denominational schools form a subcategory of private schools . Some such schools teach religious education , together with the usual academic subjects to impress their particular faith ' s beliefs and traditions in the students who attend . Others use the denomination as more of a general label to describe on what the founders based their belief , while still maintaining a fine distinction between academics and religion . They include parochial school s , a term which is often used to denote Roman Catholic schools . Other religious groups represented in the K - 12 private education sector include Protestants , Jews , Muslims and the Orthodox Christians . Many educational alternatives , such as independent school s , are also privately financed . Private schools often avoid some state regulations , although in the name of educational quality , most comply with regulations relating to the educational content of classes . Religious private schools often simply add religious instruction to the courses provided by local public schools . Special assistance schools aim to improve the lives of their students by providing services tailored to very specific needs of individual students . Such schools include tutor ing schools and schools to assist the learning of handicapped children . Situation by country . Australia . Private schools are one of three types of school in Australia , the other two being government schools ( state schools ) and religious . Whilst private schools are sometimes considered ' public ' schools ( as in the Associated Public Schools of Victoria ) , the term ' public school ' is usually synonymous with a government school . Private schools in Australia may be favoured for many reasons : prestige and the social status of the ' old school tie ' ; better quality physical infrastructure and more facilities ( e . g . playing fields , swimming pools , etc . ) , higher - paid teachers ; and / or the belief that private schools offer a higher quality of education . Some schools offer the removal of the purported distractions of co - education ; the presence of boarding facilities ; or stricter discipline based on their power of expulsion , a tool not readily available to government schools . Student uniforms for Australian private schools are generally stricter and more formal than in government schools - for example , a compulsory blazer . Private schools in Australia are always more expensive than their public counterparts . There are two main categories of private schools in Australia : Catholic schools and Independent schools . Catholic schools . Catholic schools form the second largest sector after government schools , with around 21 % of secondary enrollments . Most Australian Catholic schools belong to a system , like government schools , are typically co - educational and attempt to provide Catholic education evenly across the states . These schools are also known as ' systemic ' . Systemic Catholic schools are funded mainly by state and federal government and have low fees . Parramatta Marist High School , is the oldest Catholic school in Australia , established in 1820 Catholic schools , both systemic and independent , proclaim strong religious motivations and most often the majority of their staff and students will be Catholics . Independent schools . Independent schools make up the last sector and are the most popular form of schooling for boarding students . Independent schools are non - government institutions that are generally not part of a system . Although most are non - aligned , some of the best known independent schools also belong to the large , long - established religious foundations , such as the Anglican Church , Uniting Church and Presbyterian Church , but in most cases , they do not insist on their students ’ religious allegiance . These schools are typically viewed as ' elite schools ' . Many of the ' grammar schools ' also fall in this category . They are usually expensive schools that tend to be up - market and traditional in style , some Catholic schools fall into this category as well , e . g . St Joseph ' s College , Gregory Terrace , Saint Ignatius ' College , Riverview , St Aloysius ' College ( Sydney ) and St Joseph ' s College , Hunters Hill , as well as Loreto Kirribilli , Monte Sant Angelo Mercy College , St Ursula ' s College and Loreto Normanhurst for girls . Canada . 5 . 6 % of Canadian students are educated in private schools , the majority of which are religious schools , with a minority regarded as elite private schools . Private schools have sometimes been controversial , with some in the media and in Ontario ' s Provincial Ministry of Education claiming that a private education gives students an unfair advantage . Germany . The right to create private schools in Germany is in Article 7 , Paragraph 4 of the Grundgesetz and cannot be suspended even in a state of emergency . It is also not possible to abolish these rights . This unusual protection of private schools was implemented to protect these schools from a second Gleichschaltung or similar event in the future . Still , they are less common than in many other countries . Overall , between 1992 and 2008 the percent of pupils in such schools in Germany increased from 6 . 1 % to 7 . 8 % ( including rise from 0 . 5 % to 6 . 1 % in the former GDR ) . Percent of students in private high schools reached 11 . 1 % . There are two types of private schools in Germany , " Ersatzschulen " ( literally : substitute schools ) and " Ergänzungsschulen " ( literally : auxiliary schools ) . There are also " private Hochschulen " ( private colleges and universities ) in Germany , but similar to the UK , the term private school is almost never used of universities or other tertiary institutions . " Ersatzschulen " are ordinary primary or secondary schools , which are run by private individuals , private organizations or religious groups . These schools offer the same types of diplomas as public schools . Ersatzschulen lack the freedom to operate completely outside of government regulation . Teachers at Ersatzschulen must have at least the same education and at least the same wages as teachers at public schools , an Ersatzschule must have at least the same academic standards as a public school and Article 7 , Paragraph 4 of the Grundgesetz , also forbids segregation of pupils according to the means of their parents ( the so - called " Sonderungsverbot " ) . Therefore , most Ersatzschulen have very low tuition fees and / or offer scholarships , compared to most other Western Europe an countries . However , it is not possible to finance these schools with such low tuition fees , which is why all German Ersatzschulen are additionally financed with public funds . The percentages of public money could reach 100 % of the personnel expenditures . Nevertheless , Private Schools became insolvent in the past in Germany . " Ergänzungsschulen " are secondary or post - secondary ( non - tertiary ) schools , which are run by private individuals , private organizations or rarely , religious groups and offer a type of education which is not available at public schools . Most of these schools are vocational school s . However , these vocational schools are not part of the German dual education system . Ergänzungsschulen have the freedom to operate outside of government regulation and are funded in whole by charging their students tuition fees . India . In India too , a private school is an independent school , but since some private schools receive financial aid from the government , it can be an aided or an unaided school . So , in a strict sense , a private school is an unaided independent school . For the purpose of this definition , only receipt of financial aid is considered , not land purchased from the government at a subsidized rate . It is within the power of both the union government and the state governments to govern schools since Education appears in the Concurrent list of legislative subjects in the constitution . The practice has been for the union government to provide the broad policy directions while the states create their own rules and regulations for the administration of the sector . Among other things , this has also resulted in 30 different Examination Boards or academic authorities that conduct examinations for school leaving certificates . Prominent Examination Boards that are present in multiple states are the CBSE and the CISCE Legally , only non - profit trusts and societies can run schools in India . They will have to satisfy a number of infrastructure and human resource related criteria to get Recognition ( a form of license ) from the government . Critics of this system point out that this leads to corruption by school inspectors who check compliance and to fewer schools in a country that has the largest adult illiterate population in the world . While official data does not capture the real extent of private schooling in the country , various studies have reported unpopularity of government schools and an increasing number of private schools . The Annual Status of Education Report ( ASER ) , which evaluates learning levels in rural India , has been reporting poorer academic achievement in government schools than in private schools . A key difference between the government and private schools is that private schools are generally teach in English while government schools generally teach in the other Indian language . Ireland . In Ireland , private schools ( ) are unusual due to the fact that a certain number of teacher ' s salaries are paid by the State . If the school wishes to employ extra teachers they are paid for with school fees , which tend to be relatively low in Ireland compared to the rest of the world . There is , however , a limited element of state assessment of private schools , because of the requirement that the state ensure that children receive a certain minimum education ; Irish private schools must still work towards the Junior Certificate and the Leaving Certificate , for example . Many private schools in Ireland also double as boarding school s . The average fee is around €5 , 000 annually for most schools , but some of these schools also provide boarding and the fees may then rise up to €25 , 000 per year . The fee - paying schools are usually run by a religious order , i . e . , the Society of Jesus or Congregation of Christian Brothers , etc . There are also a small number of private international school s in Ireland , including a French school , a Japanese school and a German school . Nepal . In much of Nepal , the schooling offered by the state governments would technically come under the category of " public schools " . They are federal or state funded and have zero or minimal fees . The other category of schools are those run and partly or fully funded by private individuals , private organizations and religious groups . The ones that accept government funds are called ' aided ' schools . The private ' un - aided ' schools are fully funded by private parties . The standard and the quality of education is quite high . Technically , these would be categorized as private schools , but many of them have the name " Public School " appended to them , e . g . , the Galaxy Public School in Kathmandu . Most of the middle - class families send their children to such schools , which might be in their own city or far off , like boarding schools . The medium of education is English , but as a compulsory subject , Nepali and / or the state ' s official language is also taught . Preschool education is mostly limited to organized neighbourhood nursery schools . Netherlands . In The Netherlands over two - thirds of state - funded schools operate autonomously , with many of these schools being linked to faith groups . The Programme for International Student Assessment , coordinated by the OECD , ranks the education in the Netherlands as the 9th best in the world as of 2008 , being significantly higher than the OECD average . Oman . Oman retains a number of independent private coeducational day schools of international renown and a majority of which are private educational grammar establishments offering Classics beyond Latin and Greek to include the ancient literary studies of Sanskrit , Hebrew and Arabic . Notable ones include the American British Academy , the British School Muscat , the Indian School Al Ghubra and The Sultan ' s School ( also see List of Private Schools in Oman ) . Philippines . In the Philippines , the private sector has been a major provider of educational services , accounting for about 7 . 5 % of primary enrollment , 32 % of secondary enrollment and about 80 % of tertiary enrollment . Private schools have proven to be efficient in resource utilization . Per unit costs in private schools are generally lower when compared to public schools . This situation is more evident at the tertiary level . Government regulations have given private education more flexibility and autonomy in recent years , notably by lifting the moratorium on applications for new courses , new schools and conversions , by liberalizing tuition fee policy for private schools , by replacing values education for third and fourth years with English , mathematics and natural science at the option of the school , and by issuing the revised Manual of Regulations for Private Schools in August 1992 . The Education Service Contracting scheme of the government provides financial assistance for tuition and other school fees of students turned away from public high schools because of enrollment overflows . The Tuition Fee Supplement is geared to students enrolled in priority courses in post - secondary and non - degree programmes , including vocational and technical courses . The Private Education Student Financial Assistance is made available to underprivileged , but deserving Filipino high school graduates , who wish to pursue college / technical education in private colleges and universities . In the school year 2001 / 02 , there were 4 , 529 private elementary schools ( out of a total of 40 , 763 ) and 3 , 261 private secondary schools ( out of a total of 7 , 683 ) . In 2002 / 03 , there were 1 , 297 private higher education institutions ( out of a total of 1 , 470 ) . Portugal . In Portugal , private schools were traditionally set up by foreign expatriates and diplomats in order to cater for their educational needs . Portuguese speaking private schools are mainly concentrated in Lisbon and Porto . The Ministério da Educação acts as the supervisory and regulatory body for all schools , including international schools . Malaysia . Chinese schools were being founded by the ethnic Chinese in Malaya as early as the 19th century . The schools were set up with the main intention of providing education in the Chinese language . As such , their students remain largely Chinese to this day even though the school themselves are open to people of all races and backgrounds . After Malaysia ' s independence in 1957 , the government instructed all schools to surrender their properties and be assimilated into the National School system . This caused an uproar among the Chinese and a compromise was achieved in that the schools would instead become " National Type " schools . Under such a system , the government is only in charge of the school curriculum and teaching personnel while the lands still belonged to the schools . While Chinese primary schools were allowed to retained Chinese as the medium of instruction , Chinese secondary schools are required to change into English - medium schools . Over 60 schools converted to become National Type schools . Singapore . In Singapore , after Primary School Leaving Examination or PSLE for short , students can choose to enter a private high school . South Africa . Some of the oldest schools in South Africa are private church schools that were established by missionaries in the early nineteenth century . The private sector has grown ever since . After the abolition of apartheid , the laws governing private education in South Africa changed significantly . The South African Schools Act of 1996 recognises two categories of schools : " public " ( state - controlled ) and " independent " ( which includes traditional private schools and schools which are privately governed . ) Schools previously called semi - private or model C schools are not private schools , as they are ultimately state - controlled . Sweden . In Sweden , pupils are free to choose a private school and the private school gets paid the same amount as municipal schools . Over 10 % of Swedish pupils were enrolled in private schools in 2008 . Sweden is internationally known for this innovative school voucher model that provides Swedish pupils with the opportunity to choose the school they prefer . For instance , the biggest school chain , Kunskapsskolan ( “ The Knowledge School ” ) , offers 30 schools and a web - based environment , has 700 employees and teaches nearly 10 , 000 pupils . The Swedish system has been recommended to Barack Obama . United Kingdom . Private schools generally prefer to be called independent schools , because of their freedom to operate outside of government and local government control . Some of these , are also known as ' public schools ' . Preparatory school s in the UK prepare pupils aged up to 13 years old to enter public schools . The name ' public school ' is based on the fact that the schools were open to pupils from anywhere , and not merely to those from a certain locality , and of any religion or occupation . According to " The Good Schools Guide " approximately 7 per cent of children being educated in the UK are doing so at fee - paying schools . Many independent schools are single - sex ( though this is becoming less common ) . Fees range from under £3 , 000 to £21 , 000 and above per year for day pupils , rising to £27 , 000 + per for boarders . On August 15 , 2010 The Observer reported that the gap between the A Level achievement at private schools and that at state schools in the UK was set to widen , with three times as many privately educated students achieving the new grade A * . The paper also noted that according to the fair access watchdog bright students from the poorest backgrounds are seven times less likely to go to a top university than their richer peers . One in four children come from postcodes on or below national average income and one in three receives fee assistance . However , since actual pupils ' family incomes , which may be well above the average for a particular postcode area , were not determined , these figures are potentially unreliable . United States . In the United States , the term " private school " can be correctly applied to any school for which the facilities and funding are not provided by the federal , state or local government ; as opposed to a " public school " , which is operated by the government or in the case of charter schools , independently with government funding and regulation . The majority of private schools in the United States are operated by religious institutions and organizations . Private schools are generally exempt from most educational regulations , but tend to follow the spirit of regulations concerning the content of courses in an attempt to provide a level of education equal to or better than that available in public schools . In the nineteenth century , as a response to the perceived domination of the public school systems by Protestant political and religious ideas , many Roman Catholic parish churches , dioceses and religious orders established schools , which operate entirely without government funding . For many years , the vast majority of private schools in the United States were Catholic schools . A similar perception ( possibly relating to the evolution vs . creationism debates ) emerged in the late twentieth century among Protestants , which has resulted in the widespread establishment of new , private schools . In many parts of the United States , after the 1954 decision in the landmark court case " Brown v . Board of Education of Topeka " that demanded United States schools desegregate " with all deliberate speed " , local families organized a wave of private " Christian academies " . In much of the U . S . South , many white students migrated to the academies , while public schools became in turn more heavily concentrated with African - American students ( see List of private schools in Mississippi ) . The academic content of the academies was usually College Preparatory . Since the 1970s , many of these " segregation academies " have shut down , although some continue to operate . Funding for private schools is generally provided through student tuition , endowments , scholarship / voucher funds , and donations and grants from religious organizations or private individuals . Government funding for religious schools is either subject to restrictions or possibly forbidden , according to the courts ' interpretation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment . Non - religious private schools theoretically could qualify for such funding , but prefer the advantages of independent control of their student admissions and course content . A similar concept , recently emerging from within the public school system , is the concept of " charter school s " , which are technically independent public schools , but in many respects operate similarly to non - religious private schools . Private schooling in the United States has been debated by educator s , lawmaker s and parent s , since the beginnings of compulsory education in Massachusetts in 1852 . The Supreme Court precedent appears to favor educational choice , so long as states may set standards for educational accomplishment . Some of the most relevant Supreme Court case law on this is as follows : " Runyon v . McCrary " , 427 U . S . 160 ( 1976 ) ; " Wisconsin v . Yoder " , 406 U . S . 205 ( 1972 ) ; " Pierce v . Society of Sisters " , 268 U . S . 510 ( 1925 ) ; " Meyer v . Nebraska " , 262 U . S . 390 ( 1923 ) . There is a potential conflict between the values espoused in the above cited cases and the limitations set forward in Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child , which is below described . As of 2012 , quality private schools in the United States charged substantial tuition , close to $ 40 , 000 annually for day schools in New York City , and nearly $ 50 , 000 for boarding schools . However , tuition did not cover operating expenses , particularly at boarding schools . The leading schools such as the Groton School had substantial endowments running to hundreds of millions of dollars supplemented by fundraising drives . Boarding schools with a reputation for quality in the United States have a student body drawn from throughout the country , indeed the globe , and a list of applicants which far exceeds their capacity . External links . National and International Private School Associations Private School Statistics