An American has tackled Australia’s hidden ‘class system’ by targeting elite private schools, which he says have created a sense of ‘snobbery’ and equality.
John Pabon, a sustainability consultant who previously worked at the United Nations, compared the situation to India’s 3,000-year-old caste system, which places limits on a person’s career and ambitions based purely on their family history.
“Australians, can someone please help me understand this false class system created by private schools that has a stranglehold on people here,” Mr Pabon said.
“For a country that prides itself on giving everyone a fair chance, it seems counterintuitive that you would have artificially created a caste system.”
His comments about TikTok come as one of Australia’s most prestigious private schools, Cranbrook College, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, was rocked by an ABC Four Corners investigation.
The program exposed former staff’s allegations of a “toxic culture” at the school, which charges more than $40,000 in tuition for 11th and 12th grade students.
John Pabon (pictured) has condemned Australia’s elite private schools, which he said created a hidden class system
Mr Pabon said he has experienced first-hand the “snobbery” of Aussies, who were once former students at a private school.
He said he was in a meeting recently when someone in his 60s kept saying several times that he went to Scotch College private school in Melbourne.
Mr Pabon said the “baffling conversation” made him wonder why some Aussies place such a premium on getting a private school education.
Mr Pabon compared Australian private schools to Ivy League universities in the US such as Harvard – known for its research programs – which are highly regarded by Americans.
“We have people talking about going to NYU (New York University) or Yale, but that’s an elite university that produces scientists, not some random high school in Melbourne that produces rowers,” he said.
Mr Pabon said he couldn’t understand the significance of getting a high school education at an elite private school (photo Cranbrook College in Sydney)
Mr Pabon begged Aussies to explain to him why private schools are so highly regarded and the history behind them in Australia.
Thousands of social media users flooded the video with comments, explaining that those who attended private schools often came from wealthy Australian families.
“It’s kind of a way for people to identify the generational wealth of their peers and also strong alumni networks,” said one user.
“Students from private schools tend to be more successful, not because of the quality of their education, but because of nepotism after leaving school,” another user wrote.
Others defended private schools as places that provide opportunities for students long after they leave school grounds.
“As someone who attended an elite private school, the networks and opportunities you get from just going to that school are lifelong,” one user said.
Some argued that students who attend elite high schools are taught to think they are better than others.
“We were actively encouraged to think we were better than public school kids. So wrong,” said one user.
Several private schools in Australia have been embroiled in controversy in recent months, along with Cranbrook.
Several private schools in Australia have been embroiled in controversy in recent months, including Newington College, which announced a move to become co-ed (photo of protesters outside Newington College in Sydney)
Accusations against the school led to the resignation of principal Nicholas Sampson, who resigned after an ‘irrevocable breach of trust’ with the school council.
It followed a backlash from former Newington College students who joined dozens of parents in protesting outside the school against a proposal to make the college co-ed.
The 160-year-old school, which charges $42,201 annually for a year 12 boy, announced in 2023 that female secondary school students will be admitted from 2026, with plans to become fully co-ed by 2033.
Figures released by the ABS last year showed that independent schools, including elite private colleges, had the highest growth rate in student enrollments at 3.3 per cent.