KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica government Tuesday warned against parents having to pay annual fees for their children to attend schools here, reminding school administrators that no child should be denied the right to an education if school fees are not paid.
Jamaican students (File Photo)“We are reiterating that while stakeholders may, if they choose, make voluntary contributions to support their children’s education, schools should not force parents to pay fees for services that the ministry has already provided and has committed to providing,” said Education, Youth and Information Minister, Fayval Williams.
In a statement, Williams said that school fees are not mandatory for infant, primary and secondary institutions, noting that requests for a contribution from parents cannot be mandatory and must not be a requirement for registration, school access/attendance, access to online learning programs/platforms or criteria for graduation, examination slips, application to sixth form or access to any public service at a public educational institution.
“Registration packages for students should be no more than J$5000 (One Jamaica dollar=US$0.008 cents) for this academic year and should outline what the package entails to justify the need for the fees. Items that attract a cost such as IDs, insurance, PE uniforms, school ties etc should not be included in the registration package. These should be itemized for purchase separately,” the Minister said.
Williams said that her ministry has already outlined to schools the schedule through which they will receive funds from the government and where there is need for additional funds, this should be requested of the ministry by the school board with supporting documentation and not from parents.
“No school is to charge parents to access the Learning Management System (LMS) and to access textbooks. The costs to access the LMS and all books provided on the Book Loan Scheme have been paid for by the Ministry,” said Williams.
Last last month, Williams, said the ministry is preparing to employ both face-to-face and online learning modalities when the new academic year begins in September as the island continues to deal with the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic..
“Back to school is going to be dependent on where we are in the pandemic. We are guided by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, but what we are doing is we are planning for different scenarios,” she said.
She said then that as part of the preparations, inspection and repair of school plants are being undertaken. Internet service will be provided for schools without connectivity.
“On September morning, if it is face-to-face, we will be ready in terms of the physical infrastructure and [have] connectivity in our schools as well. Another scenario could be the online or virtual world, so we have to be prepared for that as well. So, the plan is to have all our schools with connectivity,” she said.
The connection of 196 public schools to the existing island-wide broadband network to enable access to high-speed Internet is expected to be completed in the new school term.
The works will be carried out under the first phase of the overall US$237-million National Broadband Initiative, which aims to have every household and every community connected to the Internet by 2025.
