Record-low enrolments at Australian government schools should ring ‘alarm bells’, experts say

ABS data finds participation of children in public education has dropped four percentage points in two decades to 64%

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Education experts say alarm bells" should be ringing for state and federal governments after data revealed the percentage of children enrolled in public education has fallen to a record low.

The annual schools data, released on Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), found the proportion of students enrolled in government schools has dropped by four percentage points in two decades, from about 68% in 2002 to 64% last year.