Hope revised policy will serve well

THE Tuition Fee Free (TFF) part of the budget that was handed down last week by the minister responsible Ian Ling-Stuckey may become a cause for concern for the supporters of the parties in the government.
Many parents who are classified as not in the well-to-do sector and the majority who are struggling financially every year may not want to vote for the party that is in the current government.
The TFF policy has been the winning formula for the previous government and it could work its trick again for People’s National Congress (PNC) if they decide to make it their main campaign strategy for the next election.
However, what is good for educational institutions regarding the part-parents, part-government responsibility in the payment of school fees is that it will help to assist schools to meet their plans on time in their operations.
During the TFF programme, schools suffered in terms of slowness in infrastructure development and other important areas.
At least, the parents meeting their component will help to alleviate this problem.
Otherwise, what is workable to assist our children should be done in a way that it does not have negative consequences on the children.
I say this because in the past, many heads of schools and boards were quick to suspend children if their parents were slow in paying their fees.
Our children’s education should not be compromised because of the fees.
The Tuition Fee Free has not worked well as expected during its term.
Some schools never saw their full payments on time and some are still waiting for payments even now when schools are about to end for the year.
Again, it will be an anxious time for parents just before and at the start of the next academic year.
We will wait and see if this will work well for everyone.
Some parents are already beginning to express concern for what is coming in the New Year.
One thing that is sure to make people dig deep into their pockets is the current economic situation in the country.
With rising costs of goods and services many of us are most likely to struggle to meet, even the smallest part of the fees impost by schools.
Our hope is for the schools not to penalise our children if the fees are not paid on time.
Children’s education should not be the cost of decisions that adults make.
All stakeholders should make it a win-win situation for the good of our children’s learning which, in turn will benefit this country in future.

Parent,
NCD