School fees a shared responsibility, says Pruaitch

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THE Government is partnering with parents to pay school fees, Foreign Affairs Minister Patrick Pruaitch says.
Pruaitch said there was no longer free education from the tuition fee free (TFF) policy under the previous government.
It was now a shared responsibility between the parents and the state.
Pruaitch said this yesterday during the opening of a double classroom for Pinu Primary School in Kairuku-Hiri district, Central.
The classroom was built at a cost of K250,000 with funding from the district development authority.
“Education is a right for our children, that is why there must be some partnership,” he said.
“The last government took full responsibility for school fees.
“That was through the TFF.
“Today the Marape Government is about partnership.
“It is about subsidies.
“It is consistent with the education policy of the Sir Michael Somare government of 2002-2007 and 2007-2010.
“Our policy is to subsidise education.
“Being parents you must be also responsible.
“You must be held to account, to ensure that the education of your children is also your responsibility.”
Pruaitch said the idea was that education was not just a government issue but one that needed input from citizens to ensure quality, and commitment from all stakeholders.

10 comments

  • ““Education is a right for our children” … that is correctly a constitutional statement. But for parents to pay in partnership with GoPNG is a big ask. The Government is and will always be the first person to tax workers who have been educated by the poor parents. There is no money back grantee for school fee paying parents, while for the GoPNG, yes there is money back grantee via tax.

  • Being parents we must be also responsible.
    “We must be held to account, to ensure that the education of our children is also our responsibility.” and also education was not just a government issue but one that needed input from citizens to ensure quality, and commitment from all stakeholders.

  • Tax should not be the reason to put the burden on any Government. We cannot avoid Tax and we cannot avoid Death. Applies to ALL. The rich and the poor, we will still pay tax. Government did not stand at anyone’s back and forced anyone to bring forth a CHILD. Stop being LAZY and everyone should take on the responsibility for their own children. Thank God for our Government to at least provide some assistance.

  • as parents, we should be responsible for the half of the school fees, there shouldn’t be any excuses from lazy parents who want free hand outs all the time by the GoPNG.

    • You must think others too. Every parents are not employed, you have to think both ways and discuss here. You are right but what I mean is that some parents are not employed, some are poor and some are rich. Therefore, when we discuss we must think both ways so that everybody can agree with you.

  • It is the right to be educated and it is a right for the government to collect tax but the point is they need to consider the portion that each parents in PNG should pay for tuition, like parents in urban areas should pay little bit higher than rural assuming that all parents in urban are employed, this will force the jobless people in urban to the rural areas so the government can work on its vision to develop rural people

  • Parents being unemployed in rural areas does not necessarily mean they don’t have the means to make/earn money – if the parents are lazy then they don’t make money and depend entirely on formal employment for money. Work the land, grow cash crops, fish in the sea, etc.. and sell to earn money and pay for their children’s school fees. Mathias please stop promoting lazy parents – the government didn’t ask them to produce kids – they decided to have kids on their own so they should be responsible for paying for their kids school fees and not expecting the government to pay everything for their children. My parents were not formally employed in the village but worked the land to pay for my school fees to ensure I completed my education and got formal employed so don’t sell the idea that parents in rural areas have no opportunity to make money for their children’s school fees.

  • If you are poor, stop making more babies. Em Bai hard to yu lukautim na Salim ol pikinini go to school too ya.

    Yu klia?

  • Education is not provide FREE.
    It is paid out of government revenues including tax.
    The goods and service tax paid by everyone irrespective of one’s income is a very unjust tax as the rich only pay the same amount as the poor.
    Thus the poorest in society deserve to get their children educated to become assets as they acquire education and skills. They will in turn generate taxes to pay to help any future poor families too.
    Pruaitch on K100000 can happily pay his relatives’ kids.
    Many MPs could get their Provinces to pay for ‘Free education’ Sir Julius Chan did it perhaps 15 years ago and several province and/or MPs have copied that initiative.

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