Tuition free grants are paid by government for every registered child from Class 1 to Form 7. In that regard, no child should not be sent home.
Below is how Tuition Fee grants should be utilized by schools:
- 10% of the total to be used for purchasing Computers, connection of internet or any improvement of Information Communication Technology in the school.
- 10% for classroom furniture (desks and chairs), school equipment and materials, Office equipment (office computer, copy printer, photocopier, multimedia projector).
- 10% for school library books.
- 5% on PEMAC equipment( musical instruments and sports equipment).
- 5% of the total to be used for purchasing any vocational equipment or upgrading any of the vocational facilities (for schools that have vocational).
- The rest should be spent on operational costs.
School levies should be for computer fee, building fee, sports fee, library fee, development fee, cadet fee and admission fee, and all these fees must be approved by the Permanent Secretary for Education.
It must also be noted too that any increase in levies/fees should be approved by the Permanent Secretary for Education.
The Ministry hopes that schools will now understand why the Ministry has maintained its stand on this issue- that all students must not be sent home for non-payment of levies.
Filipe Bole
Minister for Education, National Heritage, Culture and Arts, Youth and Sports, Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment.