In The Duel, 24 hours columnists David Eby and Kathryn Marshall battle over the issues of the day. Who's the winner this week? Fire us an email at van24feedback @sunmedia.ca.

The state of education: should the free market and competition apply to public schooling?

B.C.'s teachers are telling us that our public education system is in real trouble. Class sizes are up, way up. Extracurricular programs have been scaled back, or cut entirely. Extra support for kids who need it, whether because of language barriers, disability, or sheer poverty, is disappearing.

While the causes are various, one of them gets very little attention in the uproar over teacher salaries, or the right to strike.

Every year, more parents decide to take their children out of public schools and put them into private schools, where government subsidizes the cost of private tuition. This public funding of private education results in perverse outcomes. For example, in the polygamous community of Bountiful, you and I are funding a private school for the young girls and boys that live there, run by the men of that community.

One can only imagine what these children are taught about women's rights with taxpayer dollars.

There's no question many British Columbians see value in religious education for children. The question is whether this teaching should be done using public funding. Beyond that, why would B.C. subsidize the very wealthy to have their children receive an "every frill you can imagine" education? If you can afford it great, but should everyone have to pay for it?

Read Kathryn Marshall's column

Kathryn prefers that we call private schools "independent," as if they were. But they are not independent; most couldn't survive without the public subsidy they receive. They are certainly private, in the sense that they may choose their students, and their curriculum, with regard only to their own private interest.

Competition and scarcity in education? That works fine for those who can afford it. But if you can only afford the basics it doesn't matter how many competitors there are, your kids will always be going to the lowest-tier school; they'll be streamed out of post-secondary schools, desirable jobs, and other opportunities before they even get out of the gate.

Instead of promoting metrics that measure equal access for all to a high-quality education, Kathryn likes the Fraser Institute ranking. She doesn't mention that the ranking is so backwards it puts Bountiful's polygamist school near the top in the 2011 list, giving it a 10 out of 10. Does that mean it's better than most of the province's public schools?

There are lots of challenges in our educational system, but our teachers, and the concerns they're raising, aren't one of them.

David Eby is a lawyer and law professor. His blog is at davideby.ca and he tweets as @dave_eby.