WHP schools warned on project fee charges

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Tuesday 12th February, 2013

SCHOOLS in Western Highlands have been told not to charge any project fees without approval by the provincial education board.
Education board chairman Stanley Maip said schools that were allowed to do so should not charge more than K200 or they would be penalised.
Governor Paias Wingti, who is also the provincial executive council’s education chairman, discussed the issue with the education board and school authorities last week.
Wingti said that high and secon­dary schools could charge project fees if they had submitted project proposals but should not charge more than K200 per student.
Maip said the education board had approved that decision last Friday but he had not received any project proposals from schools in the province.
“If the schools want to start projects and need extra money, they need to submit proposals and charge students not more than K200,” he said.
Maip said he was aware of schools charging more than K200 without submitting project proposals and had sent a team to investigate.
“I am not too happy with schools charging parents beyond the set K200 project fee and defying national government instructions.”
He said the national education board would decide the penalties for schools charging more than K200 and his provincial investigation team would come up with their findings soon.
It is understood that high and secondary schools in the province had charged pa­rents up to K600 in project fees although the government wanted to implement the free education policy.