Local slams schools for charging project fees

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Thursday 09th Febuary 2012

By JAYNE SAFIHAO
A COMMUNITY leader from Bogia, Madang, has expressed his disappointment over schools charging project fees on the first day of school.
Joe Viaken said the education secretary should also look into allegations of overcharging of project fees.
He suggested that if there was a project to be done, children should get an official letter from the school to parents stating what the project was for and how much it would cost.
Parents can then during their meetings with the school management work out ways to raise funds.
Viaken said schools in Madang such as Malala Secondary and Holy Spirit were charging between K700 and K800 each.
“A lot of the parents have been turned away due to schools wanting upfront payments despite not being informed earlier,’’ he said.
“This issue is serious and needs education authorities to come out clear on this.”
Malala principal Michael Ketang could not be reached for comments.
Calls made to his phone were unanswered.
Viaken urged the government to come down hard on schools which were making such demands.
In Madang, school not operating BSP accounts are still awaiting their share of the government subsidies. One such school is the Lutheran Day Secondary School.
Headmaster Peter Siwi said on Monday the school had not received the promised funds.
Viaken said the education authorities needed to seriously look into the matter as this was not the anticipated outcome for many parents for this academic year.