The School Squeeze

After the dust settled, parents of students who passed the GSAT exams for prestigious high schools faced a new problem.

Many high schools have mandatory summer school for their new students.  To make matters worse, they also added hefty registration costs.  Parents were ‘up in arms’ when they were told they had to pay these additional costs.                          

So are schools just being greedy by trying to squeeze every last cent from parents?  I think that view may be a bit harsh as there is always more than one side to any issue.                          

The official position from the Ministry of Education as reported by The Gleaner is that schools should not increase their auxiliary and registration fees.  They also do not support the charging of these fees as mandatory nor should children who do not pay be barred from attending the institution.  However, despite this, the practice continues in most schools. This can be seen from the frequent advertisements placed in newspapers advising parents of the costs of registration which range from $2500 – $ 5000.

 I think that there is a possibility that the schools have increased these fees so as to supplement their budget as perhaps what the government sends is not enough to meet their needs.  If that is true perhaps there just needs to be dialogue so that everyone’s position is clearly discussed and a plan developed that will benefit all parties. What do you think?

 Click on the link below to read the full article mentioned above:

http://mobile.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100709/lead/lead93.php

 Teri Ann Renee Paisley (gleaner on line writer)