Stand-off over school fee hike gains Ministry’s attention

Apr 11, 2018 News

A stand-off between the Administration of Mae’s School and parents of the children who attend that institution has caught the attention of the Ministry of Education. The situation was one born out of the privately operated school’s decision to hike its tuition fees by 42 per cent.
This decision spurred an outcry by parents who recently staged protest action in retaliation.
This has resulted in the Ministry reaching out to the Management of the privately operated institution in hopes of fostering an amicable resolution.

The officials who attended the meeting yesterday

Moreover, yesterday a team of officials from the Education Ministry met with the Management of the school to discuss the proposed 42 percent school fee hike and the way forward.
The Ministry’s team led by Chief Education Officer, Mr. Marcel Hutson, included the Ministry’s Legal Officer, Ms. Kellyanne Payne-Hercules; Ms. Doodmattie Singh, the Ministry’s Private School Co-ordinator, and National Parent Teachers Association Coordinator, Ms. Nadia Hollingsworth.
Representing Mae’s School were Ms. Lucinda McCurdy, Administration [Ag]; Ms. Megan Archer, Director-Primary, and Ms. Shaundell Beckles- Deputy Director- Primary. The two sides met and had a fruitful discourse with a view of arriving at a resolution that is acceptable to the school and parents of children of the school at the soonest possible time.
In a statement, the Ministry said that it is slated to have yet another interface with the Mae’s team to continue discussions on the way forward.
This publication was reliably informed that the school had made the move to hike its fee after failing to do so for some seven years. It was, however, revealed that the parents’ reaction was reportedly triggered by the failure of the school to engage them in on the move ahead of its implementation.