Schools want fees to be paid up-front

SCHOOLS in the Western Highlands province want students to pay school fees up-front before they can attend classes and be entitled to boarding and lodging.
Frustrated parents told The National their children had been sent home over the last two weeks because they had not paid their fees in full.
Education Minister James Marape said a total of K144.3 million in school fee subsidies was given out last week and therefore schools should not use the excuse of limited funding to pressure parents to pay.
Rose Korowa, a parent, said schools were restricting students to register even though they have paid more than 50% of the school fees.
“Students should not be rejected from the school because they worked hard to earn their place,” she said.
Teachers in a provincial secondary school conducted a dormitory check and removed students who did not entirely pay their fees, she said.
Ms Korowa said one students who had paid K1,000, who had an outstanding of K300, was forced to leave school.