Project fees and struggling schools

MAY I speak on behalf of the administrators of public schools (both government and mission agencies) to Lorenitz Galus and countless other educated parents out there in relation to his letter on the charging of project fees.
Let me first of all salute the principals who were charged for doing what their conscience told them was the correct thing to do contrary to the Education secretary, Education minister and the Government’s directive.
Jesus Christ himself told Christians that “before you judge someone, walk a mile in his shoes”.
So you should only criticise public school principals if you have served as one in the past five years or more.
One does not have to be educated to know that 1+2 is not equal to 10.
If you had read the article on Fatima Secondary School, outside Banz, in Jiwaka, you would have only got a faint idea of the problem our public schools are going through.
As stated in the article by the bishop of the diocese under which Fatima falls under (not the principal), Fatima Secondary School has a budget of K1.7 million, which is K1,700,000 annually.
Boarding schools like Fatima spend more than 60 per cent of their budget on food for boarding students.
In 2018, the tuition fee free funding that Fatima Secondary School received totaled only K600,000 while the project fees paid by parents totaled K33,000.
These two amounts put together add up to K633,000, which is close to K700,000. What about the K1 million (K1,000,000) shortfall?
This is the situation all public schools are facing.
In reality, no public school has its budget (which is based on the total entitlements for the enrolled student population) for the year paid in full through funding from the TFF programme.
Project fees are the means by which schools supplement the TFF funding to enable them to survive to the end of the academic year.
Be grateful that the project fees that sensible parents pay are able to keep schools going, way after the money Gavman peim pinis (Government paid already) runs out.

Huri Yapenare
Redscar
Hiri District, Central