Private schools call for contracts from Ministry

Despite assurances by the Education Ministry that private secondary institutions would be paid outstanding school fees for students by the end of this week, principals at these schools are demanding that proper terms and conditions be outlined before accepting additional students as the new academic year begins.

Principal of the St Bede’s Vocational School and Abbot of Mt St Benedict, Fr Francis Alleyne, spoke with Newsday yesterday and confirmed that they had indeed received a cheque from the Ministry for students who were at the school since last November. However, he stated that they were a bit skeptical about accepting new students and that they would prefer a written contract signed before additional students are admitted to the school. Fr Alleyne revealed that as of tomorrow, they would once again be allowing students whose places had been bought by the Ministry to enter the school.

In a letter dated September 12, Fr Alleyne regretfully informed approximately 100 students that they would no longer be accommodated at the school due to the non-payment of fees by the Ministry. When Newsday contacted the Open Bible High School, we were told that they were still awaiting a reply from the Education Ministry as regards a letter enquiring about the payment of fees. A source at the school said they were only aware of what was being reported via the media, and that the Ministry’s claim that fees would be paid yesterday is yet to be fulfilled. Explaining that they had not pursued the action of barring students to the school due to this claim, and which is a last resort, the source said for the last several years the school was paid monthly. However, it is being stated that following recent contract arrangements, the school will be paid on a term basis. Communications assistant at the Education Ministry, Hilton Braveboy, said the ministry is working on rectifying the situation, and according to a release on Monday, was committed to ensuring payment in the shortest time possible.

President of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) Trevor Oliver, in response to the situation, is calling for equity in the school system as children in private schools are being “cheated” of the right to uninterrupted schooling. Oliver told Newsday that the Ministry should have monies allocated for children assigned to these institutions, and that they should be guaranteed at least five years’ education. Questioned as to whether TTUTA had spoken with the Ministry, Oliver said there has been no dialogue but that it was “amazing” that they would actually contemplate assigning more children to schools when they had not paid for the present population. Describing the situation as “undesirable,” Oliver concluded that the Ministry needed to understand that “very good ideas can turn out to be disastrous” if not implemented correctly.