Garcia: No decision made

Minister of Education Anthony Garcia 

PHOTO BY AZLAN MOHAMMED
Minister of Education Anthony Garcia PHOTO BY AZLAN MOHAMMED

UPDATE:

After a meeting with principals, heads of the Private School Association, Minister of Education, Finance, and Agriculture, no decision has been made to increase private school fees.
The association has been asking for an increased payment from the Ministry of Education of $5,700 instead of $1,200 per term for students.

Speaking to Newsday yesterday, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said the principals were asked to provide more information to assist ministries to be better informed for decision-making.
“No decision has been made, however their request for an increase is a fair one. However, the quantum will be determined by the Minister of Finance. The matter is now spearheaded by the Minister of Finance at Cabinet,” Garcia said.

When contacted, vice president of the Private School’s Association Anthony Mc Collin said the meetings have become very exhausting.
“The meetings are more like a fact-finding mission. At every turn it is disheartening and disappointing because when you attend a meeting you are thinking that when you go into the meeting you are one step closer to achieving the shared goal.
“The half an hour meeting with the minister of finance and education, it was just to ask us for more information which the ministry has, because the ministry of education knows how many government students they send to us.”

Mc Collin said every year the education ministry sends a document every term to be filled out concerning the number of teachers and students at private schools, and yearly for the qualifications of teachers with the Annual Statistical Return document.
He said just like every school, private schools fill out documents that details all information concerning the schools.
“Is it that the Ministry of Education has a vacuum or has some sort of black hole in the middle of the building that every year we submit this information and it gets lost, or are they playing for time? With some reluctance we will submit additional information.

“I am saying with reluctance because part of the information we were asked to submit encloses information on our private students, the private students’ numbers and the amount of fees the private students pay. Really and truly the ministry should have no need to request that information because they are dealing with government students.”

Mc Collin said private students have been subsidising the cost for educating the cost of government assigned students.
He said the ministry is concerned about the funding provided by the government which may also cover teachers, who teach at private schools, however, the reverse has been happening for years since the inception of the contract.

ORIGIBAL STORY:

AFTER a meeting with principals, members of the Private Schools Association, Minister of Education and Finance, no decision has been made to increase the fees for private schools.

The association has been asking for an increased payment from the Education Ministry of $5,700 instead of the $1,200 per term for students assigned to their schools by the ministry.

Speaking with Newsday today, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said the principals were asked to provide more information.

“Their request for an increase is a fair one. However, the quantum will be determined by the Minister of Finance. The matter is now spearheaded by the Minister of Finance at Cabinet.”

However, vice president of the association Anthony Mc Collin said the meetings have become very exhausting.

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