Row over school fees

By CHARLENE BAWO, OGIA MIAMEL

THE Catholic Bishop of Bereina says he is frustrated over the suspension of principals of two church schools in Bereina and Tapini districts in Central.
Bishop Rochus Tatamai said a senior Education Department officer suspended the principals of Mainohana Catholic Secondary School in Bereina and Sacred Heart High School in Tapini.
“These two schools are important and good performing schools in Central,” Tatamai told The National.
“That he would do this at the beginning of the school year to suspend these two principals shows that he has no interest in the children and their learning.
“I would like to know who directed the officer to suspend our principals, by what authority and why was procedural justice so blatantly by-passed, infringing on the rights of these two teaching officers and the other 39, whom I understand were suspended throughout the country.”
Tatamai said as the head of agency, he directed his school boards to charge agency and other fees.
“If the education authorities want to charge anyone, they should take me to court and not these principals who are just following instructions and directives from the agency, of which I am the head,” he said.
“I call on the Teaching Service Commission to do their job and reinstate these principals immediately so that my schools can run properly.
“I am also angry because all the Catholic bishops wrote to the prime minister, the education minister and the education secretary last July about this matter.
“We (bishops) wrote that letter in the hope that this matter about agency fees and the breakup of TFF money could be resolved before the start of this year.
“The bishops did not receive any reply from the Education minister or the secretary.”
He said in 2013 and 2014, when schools received the full amount of tuition fee free funds, the school boards had enough money to administer but in 2015 and 2016 schools only received 30 per cent or less.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Nick Kuman reiterated that no school is to charge any form of fees as a requirement for enrolment.
Kuman told a radio talkback show yesterday that the Education Department had paid the tuition fee free funds for all primary and secondary schools last week.
He said elementary, special education schools and flexible open distant education centres and permitted schools run by private partners and technical vocational education training  institutes would have their funds transferred into their bank accounts this week.