Ministry moves to reel in private schools

A WEEK after the settlement of the Kalifa Logan issue, the Minister of Education has appointed a committee to revise the registration procedures in private schools and to come up with a memorandum of understanding for private schools to ensure conformity with the Constitution. A release from the ministry said Education Minister Hazel Manning appointed the joint committee to, “develop mechanisms aimed at ensuring that all provisions of the Constitution and the Education Act are observed in schools across the country.” The measure was in keeping with the ministry’s mandate and responsibility to “guarantee equity and to provide quality education for all students regardless of race, colour, creed or class.” Among the committee’s terms of reference are to revise the ministry’s system of “registration for all private schools and especially those utilising State resources, resulting from the assignment of students by the Ministry of Education.”

The committee will examine rules and practices in order to develop a comprehensive memorandum of understanding (MOU) for private schools that will be mutually acceptable. Chairman of the committee is the Permanent Secretary in the ministry. Other members are the chief education officer, the director of school supervision, the director of educational planning, the director of curriculum development, the director of research and evaluation,  the director of finance and accounts, the senior legal officer, the adviser communications manager, two members of the association of private schools, representatives of the denominational boards and representatives from the Office of the Attorney General. Manning and Attorney General John Jeremie last week said private schools had the right to operate according to their own rules, without any constitutional sanction. As a result, they said Sr Adriana Noel and the St Charles High School did not infringe on the Constitution when Sr Noel refused to accept dreadlocked Kalifa. Manning also said the ministry had no jurisdiction over private schools.