EVERY week parents of private school students are losing their homes to bankruptcy actions taken by cash-strapped schools that can no longer wait for overdue fees.

There had been a 25 per cent increase in schools pursuing debtors to bankruptcy in the past year, said Roger Mendelson, the chief executive of Prushka, a debt collection agency that represents more than 400 private schools.

He said that as a result, "across the nation a few homes every week" were sold by trustees.