Investigate this school, Mrs Manning


THE EDITOR: It is with great displeasure that I am writing to inform the public that I am in shock and dismay of what is presently occurring at a certain college in east Trinidad. Besides having to deal with the bandits on the streets, parents and students of the college are also exposed to a different kind who continually rob and take advantage of the students.


Please allow me to elaborate. I recently enrolled my daughter at the school and paid her tuition fees in advance (in full) amounting to almost $9,000 in December 2005 for the January 2006 semester. At that time the school informed us that they were awaiting approval from the Ministry of Education and did not know if the tuition would have been free.


However, on registration day in January we learnt that students were indeed being provided with free tuition and so when I queried into receiving a refund, the school informed me that they were not issuing any refunds at the moment. The reason given was that the Ministry of Education has not paid the school for Gate to date, and they will only issue refunds when the monies are received. No one that day could have answered my questions as to how long it would take and why should the parents and students be penalised for this. To date, it is the last week of February and I am still waiting on a refund.


Another incident my daughter has encountered is that besides having to take four religious courses as a requirement for a degree, she must also attend Bible Chapel (every Monday 4.20 pm — 5.20 pm).


This is where the interesting part begins:


Failure to attend Chapel will result in students having to pay $5 for every chapel session missed for the semester. Failure to pay would result in the student unable to "gain clearance" for writing final exams at the ending of the semester.


My concern is, is this legal? While I personally believe that religion plays an integral part in everyone’s life, I do not believe that my daughter should feel compelled to attend another religion’s chapel, not to mention, why should I have to pay for every session that she misses. I have never heard of this taking place anywhere in Trinidad or anywhere in the world for this matter, and nowhere are these rules written in any guidebook.


I am calling on Mrs Hazel Manning to investigate this matter urgently please, because I am almost certain that what this school is getting away with is an infringement of one’s basic human rights.


A JONES


Arima

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"Investigate this school, Mrs Manning"

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