Registration fees really ridiculous

THE EDITOR: TT governments for many years boasted of having "free education" from nursery to tertiary. A boast which has augured well where many homes can today claim first-generation university graduates.

This opportunity is seemingly being taken away in 2023 as SEA students are forced to pay out high secondary school registration fees across the country.

These ridiculous fees, ranging from $3,300 to $5,000 in some cases, have made it a crime to pass the SEA examination. Many of these secondary schools have become the new "Italian mobsters" as they literally shakedown parents in a pay-up-or-else scenario at these registration settings.

These fees are highly discriminatory to children from lower income households. The fees have placed additional pressure on parents who are already struggling to make ends meet as many have lost jobs or are dependent on government assistance.

Many of these schools also have the audacity to institutionalise an annual fee of the same high rate. If this isn't mob mentality I don't know what is. Again, separating the haves from the have-nots.

Parents are not against the charging of a fee. However, this fee must be feasible and standardised across the board. This elitist system that is creeping into education will further set the country back as students who are brilliant but poor have to face the stigmatisation of not being able to afford high "school fees," therefore he/she cannot do labs, etc. This needs to stop.

Based on these significant registration fees, it is justifiable to request that the Ministry of Education and the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) require from all of these institutions that are charging more than $1,500 an internal audit.

The public, including the parents of students of these schools, should be notified through these audits by a reputable firm where the funding is coming from and how it is being spent. It is also justifiable to state that these institutions must now register for FIU clearance.

The National Parent-Teacher Association, the organisation that is supposed to be the voice of the parent in situations such as this, is silent on this matter. Has it forgotten its role, purpose and objective? I guess being liked is more important than standing up for what is right.

STACEY GOULD

Claxton Bay