Concerns On the Rise Over High Enrolment Cost

 An auxiliary fee battle is heating up as the country's National Parent Teachers Association is calling for fees to be less burdensome and warning against schools exploiting parents.

 

But the National Principles Association is hitting back and rejecting the notion of parents being exploited.

 

Just as parents are recovering from the financial marathon of last school year, the next one is already knocking with its hand out. Parents are once again faced with a burden of high enrolment fees.

 

In 2020, the Ministry of Education placed a limit on registration fees to $5,000. Just 6 years later, schools are charging five times that amount. At some high schools, registration fees are over $20,000. But paying doesn't guarantee a place for students seeking to transfer.

 

President of the National Parent Teachers Association of Jamaica Stewart Jacobs is calling for schools to show consideration, warning against exploitation of parents. “The NPT is asking that cons due consideration be done for the parents of Jamaica at this time. When it comes to these to this cost is costly and some of it is somewhat unnecessary.

 

In fact, I know of schools that charge the exorbitant fee to deter to detract the amount of request for transfers that they're coming in. So, what they purposely do, they hike it up. So, you know, but people are still paying it because everybody wish the best for their child. Do not exploit it.”

 

But president of the Jamaica Association of Principles of Secondary Schools, Anniona Jones, rejects the idea that schools are exploiting parents. She says the charges should instead be viewed as contributions to school maintenance. the fees that are being charged.

 

“It really should not be considered to be fees, but rather an outline of contributions that we're asking stakeholders to make to have the programs within educational institutions continue to a high quality and to maintain the physical plant.”

 

 

The Principal's Association boss says if parents believe contributions are unreasonable, they should then raise the matter with the school board.

 

“At the high school level, $500,000 is given each year towards maintenance and that money is given in parts. The greatest portion is given in August to help us to get schools to restart.

However, there are several other programs within schools that are quite costly that children and parents all benefit from. Now, these need to be financed. If a parent feels that 10,000 is too much, 50,000 is too much, 80,000 is too much, the board has the responsibility to request a full breakdown to ask where the money is going to then revise, set parameters. That provision is already in place. It doesn't need to go through all of what we're doing. Just access the system that has been put in place by law to ensure that there are checks and balances.”