Schools under the Anglican Church of Melanesia Education Board will continue to charge normal school fees despite the national government's announcement to introduce free education next year.
School principals in consultation with the Church Education Office agreed to continue with parents paying school fees for their children's education next year.They say there are a lot of unanswered questions and uncertainties about the proposed free education plan by the government following an explanation given by a personnel from the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development invited to their meeting recently.
The Ministry's officer in his explanation said implementation of this free education policy may be further complicated by the fact that the it is still in its draft form and needs to be gazetted.
The principals also say that the proposed allocation to be paid to the schools based on each student would be far less than the required amount currently imposed through school fees.
They say the amounts will be inadequate to keep the schools operational for a full academic year.
Meanwhile, parents whose children will attend schools under the Church of Melanesia Education Board must be prepared to invest in their children's future by paying school fees.
Source: SIBC