KINGSTON – The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, is advising school administrators to keep the cost of registration packages between JA$1 000 (BDS $15.95) and JA$5 000 (BDS$79.78).
Making the call, senior advisor at the Ministry, Robert Miller, said they have received reports that some schools are charging exorbitant sums, when the mandate of the Government is to make the cost to parents “minimal”.
He said the administrators need to adhere to the directive that all “charges for registration packages must be approved by the Minister before they are effected”.
The senior advisor, who was delivering the keynote address at the 2016 graduation ceremony for the Tarrant Primary School, at the Hope Fellowship Church, in St Andrew, on June 23, said the non-payment of fees cannot affect the placement of students at schools.
“Board chairmen are being asked to provide guidance and ensure that school administrators follow these directives, in order to minimise the cost to parents as well as ensuring that no child is disenfranchised as they seek to prepare for the upcoming school year,” he said.
Miller told the audience that the Ministry’s regional officers will be very vigilant over the next few weeks, to provide the required support and to prevent any deviation from the policy position of the Ministry. (JIS)
