In the last decade, expenditure on the private education of children has increased significantly.  Based on data from the Household Budget Survey of the Central Statistical Office, Polish Economic Institute analyzed the change of expenditure on education in families with children of school age from 7 to 18 years.    

More and more Polish households spent relatively large amounts on private education. The average monthly expenditure on private education increased from PLN 16 in 2010 to PLN 41 in 2020.

The above amounts seem to be small due to the fact that most of the households did not have any expenditure on private education. In 2010, 16% households had any expenses for this purpose, in the following years this share gradually decreased to 7 % in 2020. It was related to the decline in the number of families spending small amounts on private education. Therefore, it is also worth paying attention to the average amount spent on education among households that had any expenses for this purpose. In 2010, it amounted to PLN 104 per month and in the next 10 years it increased as much as 6 times – to PLN 615.

This means that there are an increasing number of families that spend relatively large amounts of money on education and are likely to shift fully from public to private education.

Private education expenditure is higher among more affluent families. Changes in the level and structure of expenditure may mean less and less egalitarianism in education. More and more parents are choosing private education for their children, but this only applies to those who are financially able to do so.

Polish Economic Institute emphasized that the consequences of this process may be social and the greater share of private education may deepen inequalities.

Adrian Andrzejewski