Parents should vote against school fees hikes, says Govt

THE Primary and Secondary Education ministry yesterday urged parents to exercise their powers and rights by voting against any proposed increases they felt were unjustified.

This was said by the ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro in response to questions from NewsDay about private schools that astronomically increased fees.

"The ministry takes into consideration an agreed position between the parents and the school.

If the parents of that private school vote for a figure that they do not want and the school authorities approach the ministry for approval, there is nothing more we can do," Ndoro said.

"But if parents refuse to vote for the fees figure, it will not be binding.

Parents have power to determine tuition fees.

Parents should know that they have the choice not to vote for any of the options that are given and even propose their own options based on the budget and development plans that are there."

Some of the private schools which parents say charge astronomical fees are the Dominican Convent which charges $180 000, Girls College $345 000, Christian Brothers College US$1 300, Whitestone US$1 350, and SOS US$600, which is also payable in local currency at the bank rate.

Carmel is charging US$800, Centenary US$850, Montessori US$600 and US$50 for levy, Amazon charges US$500, Petra Senior $264 000, Petra Junior is $176 000, Midlands Christian College's fees range from US$858 to US$1 408 for day scholars and US$1 624 to US$3 872 for boarders.