No more supplies list for nursery schools and no more denial of school registration

In a statement on Wednesday, the Education Ministry declared that parents of nursery children should not be issued with any list of supplies to be purchased.

No more supplies list for nursery schools and no more denial of school registration

The Ministry of Education has dropped the hammer on those school administrations that are asking parents to provide supplies for their nursery school children. For years, many parents were burdened with providing toiletries and other supplies to the public schools for their children.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Education Ministry declared that parents of nursery children should not be issued with any list of supplies to be purchased.

The Ministry’s directive also covered other issues facing the primary and secondary schools.

It said that it has noted with concern that some School Administrators have been requesting significant sums of money for the registration of new students to Nursery, Primary and Secondary Schools under the pretext that such sums were previously agreed upon by the Parent Teachers Association.

The Ministry said it has given great consideration to the needs of schools and wishes to provide the following guidelines for Non-Budgetary Costs.

  1. No student shall be denied Registration to any school due to their inability to pay; children have a right to schooling and must be registered.
  1. The Parent Teachers Association for each school has been authorized to conduct fundraising activities to support school administration to offset non-budgetary costs. (Badges, PTA dues, Report Booklets, Miscellaneous).  Such activities must be promoted to strengthen the partnership between schools and the community.
  1. If the activities planned  and executed by the Parent Teachers Association do not generate the income to offset non-budgetary costs, then the following guidelines should be followed:
  2. a)For All Nursery Schools – not more than $2,500.00/year
  3. b)For All Primary Schools – not more than $3,000.00/year
  4. c)For Secondary Schools – not more than $5,000.00/year
  5. d)For National Secondary Schools – not more than $8,000.00/year

(Queen’s College, The Bishops’ High, St. Stanislaus College, St. Rose’s and St. Joseph)

According to the Ministry, the sums were carefully considered for all non-budgetary costs as such NO ADDITIONAL request must be made from parents.

And the Ministry also said that there must be no compulsion for students to purchase P.E. clothes, aprons for Home Economics, Lab Coats, Tie-pin inter alia; from the school.

Several schools have barred students from purchasing specific items from the school only although the same items might be available at a cheaper cost at other places.

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