B. H. Step child, I agree wholeheartedly. The growth of private primary schools has become divisive, segregationist and certainly anti-democratic. The system of public schools should be supported in every possible way, and separate private schools discouraged.

The private school movement is strong in my city (Calgary) in western Canada, as it is in much of the U. S.

Kids whose families are well-to do are segregated from the unwashed who can only afford public schools.
Kids whose parents are members of the far right bigoted and ignorant religious sects have their own schools; they have no contact with other beliefs. So we have segregation by belief as well as financial status.
Some schools are exclusively for girls. Home schooling is also permitted in this province.

The disintegration here has two main causes.
1. The inclusion of mentally handicapped into the main public school stream, essentially giving teachers the parallel job of caring for two groups, to the detriment of those who are able to learn and advance.
2. The influx of immigrants (20% plus in Calgary's population), many of whom know little English. ESL (English as second language) teaching is strong in the public system, as it should be. Many parents who were born here, however, are wary of "foreign ways," and have elected private schools as a way of avoiding contact.

Of course, the way towards privatization was paved by Canada's system of separate schools, Catholic and non-Catholic, both publicly funded. The beast had two heads from the time of Confederation.