Folks, I couldn’t miss the news tonight. In fact, I had to watch both television newscasts so that I could hear both perspectives on the issue of the tuition refund. The Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness held a press conference this evening to announce that the nation will hear when the disbursement of refunds will be forthcoming, at a later date. He claims that refunds will be some time in November…ok cool.
However, we are now hearing that tuition costs amounts to some B$1.8!! This is after we were told it would cost a little over B$1.0. What a drastic difference! There was I thinking (because I am so stupid) that the tuition would have cost exactly B$1.0. Wow. Someone dared to ask where the money was coming from to facilitate this refund, to which the Minister expressed that we shouldn’t be concerned about that. He continued to say that if we are really THAT concerned then we need to direct that question to the Minister of Finance. Well, well, well…….there is even the suggestion that when the refund is made it should be left with the schools for development purposes……well, well, well….there was I thinking that schools ran on chocolate…silly me.
On another note, the Gleaner reported a story this morning about the auxiliary fees “which vary from school to school, usually cover developmental, PTA, insurance and laboratory fees, among others, and range from $2,000 to $12,000″. The Minister states that the Ministry will now begin a debate about these fees, with a view to constructing policy. Good for them.Alphansus Davis, president of the Association of Principals and Vice-Principals, claims “That aspect needs to be regulated because we can’t have a system where people increase these fees to supplement tuition fees,” Mr. Davis said.
If I were a primary or secondary school teacher, which I am not, but if I were, I would succumb to the rules of capitalism. You get what you pay for. Want extra? It’s gonna cost you! I wonder if they think that quality teachers come cheap. If I ran a primary or secondary school there would be a sign at the gate saying “Basic services only. For premium services, call 1 888 PAY MORE and press 2 for more details on how to obtain our services at an additional cost”. The Ministry could never be in their right mind. How will they attract QUALITY teachers?
To top it off, the feedback question on TVJ this evening was “Do you think this administration has been reckless with their spending and promises?” (or words to that effect)…..funny..71% of the respondents said YES!! It’s those Comrades….they are sitting by the phone and pressing 2 FOR YES. They manipulated the straw poll this evening!!
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