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alexk
Guest
Finance Minister Colm Imbert holds a second meeting with principals of private secondary schools today and principals are hoping that the meeting will finally bring resolution to their request for a fee increase.
The Government has been paying $1,200 per child per term for students which they assign to the private secondary schools, but school officials say they are in millions of dollars of debt because the money they have been receiving from the state is just not enough.
They have requested that the fee be increased to $5,700 which they describe as the real cost of educating a child.
School officials also confirmed that although Minister Imbert had promised to organise the payment of monies which are outstanding for the term just ended, up to yesterday they had not received any payment and as a result they were unable to pay the salaries of teachers at Private Secondary Schools for the month of July.
Meanwhile, president of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO)Canon Knolly Clarke has confirmed that the IRO is “deeply concerned” about the matter and is now gathering information before requesting a meeting with Education Minister Anthony Garcia on the issue.
Clarke told the T&T Guardian that “if children are suffering that is something we have to deal with.”
He said he has been told that Bishops Centenary College in Woodbrook owes a lot of money to the bank because of the situation.
Several other schools are in the same position but Clarke said they needed to get all the data together before making an intervention and requesting a meeting on the issue.
The IRO head said a two member committee from the IRO has been mandated to “do the research and find out how many schools are experiencing the problem and we will make an intervention. It is an issue we will take up,” Clarke said.
Last week, they told Imbert that more than 90 per cent of the students at the schools are assigned there by the Government.