Should parents pay auxiliary fees or should they be removed?
Author : teriannDo you have a son or daughter attending school?
Well if it is in recent times you might remember the inevitable costs associated with going to school. The cost of books, stationery items, lunch money, uniform costs and bus fare.
The biggest strain on everyone’s budget though is the payment of school fees due at the beginning of each school year. Depending on the high school, parents have had to pay steadily increasing school fees. Schools charge these auxiliary fees to offset their expenses which are not fully covered by the money sent by the Ministry of Education.
These fees, which vary from school to school, usually cover developmental, PTA, insurance and laboratory fees, among others. Some schools charge fees as high as $40,000 while others charge between $5000 and $10,000 for the year. There has been recent debate around the issue of the proposed removal of auxiliary fees.
School administrators say their operations will be compromised as the money sent by the Ministry will not be enough to fund their programmes.
High schools also require parents to pay a registration fee before their child takes up the place they were awarded in GSAT (Grade Six Achievement Test). Those registration fees usually cover P.E. uniform, handbook of rules, medical and insurance. This can range in cost from $2000 – $ 8000 or more.
Importance of Fees
Besides providing a means by which schools can pay their bills, the payment of auxiliary fees also maintains other programmes that schools provide.
There are a number of things that those funds are used to do to enhance the learning experience.
These include painting out the graffiti that the students often place on the walls, fencing priorities, and upgrading and maintaining Internet facilities. A number of schools end the year with nothing at all in their accounts.
As a result, they depend heavily on the fees that are paid by parents to supplement their budget.
Some persons have been proposing that instead of removing it, the Government should put a limit on how much schools can charge for their auxiliary fee.
The Government is still in the consultation stage of implementing the policy which if it is fully adopted would be effective September 2016.
So what’s your take on the issue?
Is it time for parents to dig in their pockets a little less?
Let me hear from you!
Teri Ann Paisley
Gleaner online writer
Tags: auxiliary fees
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21 Responses to “Should parents pay auxiliary fees or should they be removed?”
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In my opinion, I think that removing the auxiliary fees will cause problems with school finances. As, stated these fees cover developmental, PTA, insurance and laboratory fees, among others and so the schools cannot do without it. Instead of removing them, lower the fees to reasonable a amount. There is no point in removing education fees yet asking parents to pay exorbitant amounts of money for auxiliary fees. I also think that the government needs to make a better budget for education. The schools also need to revisit their budget and see what can be put off and what is necessary. Why preach about educating the people if your not making more effort to have education more affordable to the people?
Thanks for adding to the discussion Ares, you made some interesting points! Keep visiting and sharing your opinions!
The system we have in place is not fit for purpose for the long term. We cannot afford not to provide at least some education to all our students but there are so many things to fix within the sector. There has to be a middle ground as that’s the difficulty within this debate. This will have to be a project from the bottom up. We need better family planning, parenting, teaching and general effectiveness within the education sector as there is a feeling of entitlement by some.
Although parents/guardians pay fees, most schools still hold fund raising activities to raise funds needed for infrastructural work, to upgrade assets (chairs, tables etc) and simply for upkeep of the school grounds.
This fact underscores the need for the fees to remain in place until and unless the government is able to increase their subsidy to fully cover the needs of the schools.
Many high schools regard each students’ situation and work with the parents in respect of the fees. In some cases, where the parents establish their inability to pay, the fees are waived. However, a far greater percentage of parents make the sacrifice and pay the fees.
The fees should remain.
The lessons learnt from removal of the fees in the Health Sector should suffice to guide/inform that a decision without proper data and consultation will be disastrous.
I believe that parents should be supported to budget, save and be prepared to contribute to the education of their children. I believe that Jamaican parents want to do this.
Allow the fees to remain.
If the fees are removed, that will also be the demise of clean, comfortable working conditions for teachers, which will then impact their delivery in the classroom and in turn impact the quality of learning.
Let good sense prevail.
I believe auxiliary fees should remain – i have two girls who attend the same all girls school and i am very pleased with the standard of education that is offered there – physically, it is a beautiful school and well kept
It is not easy to pay the auxiliary fees for both of them, but they have in place an arrangement where you can pay the fees in instalments and they are quite amicable about this.
As said before, the quality of education that is offered and the school surroundings is more than enough for me to have the auxiliary fees remain.
DO NOT REMOVE THE AUXILIARY FEES
Thanks for taking the time to share your opinion on the issue Cheryl. You raised some interesting points! Keep visiting and commenting!
Hello Andrea, thanks for adding your voice to the discussion. You made some valid statements about the issue! Keep visiting and commenting!
I don’t think that auxiliary fees should be abolished, however provisions should be made for those who cannot afford to pay, because there are parents who really cannot afford to pay.
I have worked in the school system and i can tell you that the school money is mismanaged, and misappropriated. The schools tuck shop and canteen are feeding tree for some of the authorities. Some of them don’t even buy groceries for their homes. Funds from photocopying is not used to at least help to repurchase toner/ink. The monies from the cash pan just disappear, as persons having access to same just use it to their leisure.
There is too much corruption and politics in the schools, and when it is found that funds have been misappropriated , nothing is done, so it continues.
Auxiliary fees should be completely banished. This kind of fees are not paid anywhere in the world, so why should it be so in Jamaica.
while going to school, and receiving my education, there was no talk about fees such as these. Please abolished them Minister of Education. Wipe them off your books please.
These fees should be abolished, and I hope the minister of education and PM, does that right now. When I was attending school and receiving my education, no such fees ever existed. I believe Jamaica, is the only country in the world, charging those fees, and I am trying to recall, what government came up with such idea, which I think is completely wrong.
Thanks for adding your thoughts on the issue Winston. Keep visiting and sharing!
Hey Dawn Thanks for adding your ideas on the issue. You raised some interesting points. Keep visiting and sharing!
I endorse the others by saying school fee should remain. Administrators will tell you that it takes money to finance the proper running of schools which the government alone cannot provide. The fee can only be abolished when the government no longer has to borrow from Peter to pay Paul and vice versa. There is no time for fund raising in the schools and even so everything boils down back in the teachers’ laps who should be focusing on teaching and learning and maintaining of discipline. .
The country cannot afford the No fee at this time.
Educating our children should be one of the top priorities of our country, meaning the government. Someone said that the country cannot afford the “No fee” at this time. Let us take a look back, then assess where we are and be reasonable about where we want to go if educating our future men and women is indeed one of our top priorities. When I went to high school, it was free. We had to buy lunch and pay bus fare and pay for educational and leisure trips and buy our books which the government subsidized. Lunch tickets were provided for the needy and book grants were also provided to some. During that time Jamaicans were not paying all these taxes to government that they are now paying. Rural roads were better and transportation was better. Many would remember the big Leyland and Atkinson buses that took kids as well as everybody else to the various towns to go to schools and market and courthouse and to work. There were very good and qualified teachers and respectable competent principals in the high schools and examination results were admirable. So now Government taxing for everything and politicians: the government raking in top salaries and spending tax payers money like they have won the lottery, buying and building houses here in Jamaica and and some of them in other countries. I say government need to channel more money into education at the foundational levels and relieve overburden parents of auxiliary fees. Cut some of the waste and mismanagement of tax payers money and finance schools to make sure our most precious resource our children get the education they have a right to get. Minimize and standardize registration fee and make special provision for parents who can’t afford it. Lack of money for school fees in the public school system should not be a reason for a child to be denied education. Let’s encourage the private sector to get involved and support the schools in their communities. Adopt a school should be should be encouraged. Businesses, individual expatriates all over the world. Don’t depend on the parents to run public schools through haphazard aulliary fees. Redirect more of taxpayers money into the schools and ensure fiscal accountability from Principals , school boards, bursars, heads of departments and the Minister and ministry of Education.
Yes…remove the auxiliary fees like how they removed the user fees for the hospitals….
Same faith will follow, but unfortunately it will be the MAJORITY of our students who will experience the lack of resources and assistance….then what….
Maybe we need to reflect on why this started in the first place,the truth is the money the government provides will never be enough to run the schools,remember not all schools have the same population etc. The traditional high schools generally manage to collect the larger portions of these fees leaving the so called upgraded ones suffer.I happen to work in a school where currently not even half have paid any of the fees,not because some cant afford it but have refused because it is free,I wont begin to chronicle some of the problems we have been having in terms of the daily operations.This issue requires serious discussion and analysis with ALL stakeholders in education.The payment or non payment of these fees doesn’t only affect school operations but also the teachers and our ability to carry out our task.While there maybe issues surrounding how the fees and how they are collected,it is my view that its abolition will prove detrimental to many of our institutions,especially those who are described as under performing.Our education system in my view as an educator for 25 yrs is elitist and cl assist.So Mr.Minister please advance the discussion on this issue!!!
Everybody wants everything for free and expect high standards. These come with a price – there are teachers and other support staff to pay, teaching tools to maintain and purchase, other activities, facilities, utilities etc. Without this, the basic standard will fall. Parents need to live up to their responsibilities…..if free medical and education is at no cost, they will continue to multiply and burden all tax payers of this country with their responsibility yet they find the funds to party, go on the north coast, etc, etc. This money would be better spent upgrading our infrastructure, upgrading and maintaining our hospitals, schools, etc. to improve the standard of living for us all because if the already burdened “kitty” has to take on another hit with another major expense. Parents who can afford to pay are already taking their children to private schools. Let the auxiliary fees remain.
Everybody wants everything for free and expect high standards. These come with a price – there are teachers and other support staff to pay, teaching tools to maintain and purchase, other activities, facilities, utilities etc. Without this, the basic standard will fall. Parents need to live up to their responsibilities…..if free medical and education is at no cost, they will continue to multiply and burden all tax payers of this country with their responsibility yet they find the funds to party, go on the north coast, etc, etc. This money would be better spent upgrading our infrastructure, upgrading and maintaining our hospitals, schools, etc. to improve the standard of living for us all because if the already burdened “kitty” has to take on another hit with another major expense, then the current services offered by the Government will fall even further or become non-existent. Parents who can afford to pay are already taking their children to private schools. Come on people, do your part as a parent and pay the fees – you get a lot for what you are currently paying for and without them your child will surely be worse off. Don’t teach your children that freebies” are a way of life. Let the auxiliary fees remain.
The wholesale removal of fees is ridiculous and unsustainable … the Minister is already doing a subtle back pedalling by asserting that parents should still be encouraged to “contribute”. This tells me that he is aware that there will be gaps that his additional funds will not fill. What the Minister shoul do is pump the additional funds to schools and still allow them to collect fees after using a means test to determine those wh can pay and those who cant.
In fact, this means test is already being applied informally by the schools. For example, the PATH programme already identifies those who DEFINITELY CANNOT PAY and by the Ministers own admission, in some schools as many as 60% of the population DO NOT NOW PAY THE FEES. for those of the remainign 40% pay fees under great duress, instead of giving them wholesale relief, a system should be developed to offer them some discount or to graduate the payments AND AGAIN SOME SCHOOLS DO THIS.
Thanks for giving your input Karlene! Keep visiting the site!