Total expenditure on private education institutions of the A.C. of Basque Country came to 922 million euros in 2007, which represented a 10.5% increase with respect to 2005, according to Eustat data.

In 2007, current expenditure, which accounted for 95.2% of the expenditure, increased by 12.4%, while spending on investment fell by 16.9%. In terms of current expenditure, the amount spent directly on education, which accounted for over 90% of the total, grew by 12.1%, complementary services (mainly canteen and school transport services) were up by 13.6% and complementary activities by 22%.

Pre-university centres accounted for the majority of total expenditure (87.2%), while higher education centres represented 10% and specialised education centres the remaining 2.8%. With respect to the previous two-year period, the number of students remained steady at pre-university level and expenditure increased by 10.7%, while there was a drop in the number of students at private university level (-5.5%) and expenditure grew by 7%.

Graph 1. Evolution of total expenditure per student in private centres of the A. C. of Basque Country (€).

Source: EUSTAT

INDICATORS

The performance of unit expenditure, per student and per group, was similar during the period, with similar growth, which means that the number of students per group remained steady with respect to the previous two-year period. Specifically, expenditure per student was up by 10.1% and per group by 10.8%.

In 2007, education expenditure per school unit or group amounted to 63,631 and 78,020 euros for infant and primary education. With regard to secondary education, it came to 95,377 euros for compulsory secondary education (ESO), 92,809 euros for vocational Training (FP) and 113,781 euros for upper secondary. The expenditure per unit in adult education (EPA) was 42,177 euros. In general, the lowest ratios were for the centres run by religious orders.

Education expenditure per student came to 3,424 euros for infant education, 3,916 for primary, 4,853 for compulsory secondary education, 5,151 for upper secondary and 5,874 for vocational training. Expenditure per student at university level was 5,458 euros and 1,651 euros in specialised education.

FUNDING

Total income for public centres totalled 906 million euros, with 99.8% corresponding to current income and 1.2% to capital income As regards current income, public subsidies accounted for 68% of the total, academic fees 17.3%, complementary services 8.6% and the rest of the current income stood at 8.1%.

As far income from fees was concerned, it can be seen that the entry of first-level infant education in the system has lead to a significant increase in this concept, with income from fees accounting for 31% of the total income of infant education.

The average fees per student for transport and school canteen services at private centres of the A.C. of Basque Country were 548 and 708 euros, respectively. Academic fees per student were 544 and 330 euros for infant and primary education, 356 for ESO, 582 for middle-level vocational training, 696 for higher vocational training, 680 for specialised education, 849 for upper secondary and 4,595 for university courses.

Table: Summary of the evolution of the main variables

Source: EUSTAT