Minister tells parents don't pay fees to register children in schools

File: Tim Gopeesingh

Minister of Education Tim Gopeesingh stated on Wednesday that no one should be paying fees to schools to register their children and advised parents to refuse to pay any money if schools demand it.

Gopeesingh made the comments to principals when he met with them at at Rudranath Capildeo Learning Resource Centre (RCLRC), Mc Bean, Couva.

He noted that one parent complained about a school in north Trinidad asking parents to pay as much as $1000 for registration.

The minister said no one has to pay fees because the government takes care of all the financial needs of schools.

“The country has been plagued by parents who are socio-economically deprived having to pay fees at the time of registration of their children into Form One into these schools...This is untenable,” Gopeesingh told reporters.

He insisted that the ministry will enforce the no-fee policy. He said principals of government schools receive budgets ranging from $750,000 to $1.5 million annually and insisted that "the poor parents should not have to pay any money whatsoever for their child to be admitted into their schools." 

He added, "We want to make that publicly known to all parents. Anybody who is experiencing difficulty must report that to the Ministry of Education, so that action can be taken.” Gopeeesingh said education in free and the government won't allow anyone to charge “exorbitant fees implemented in an arbitrary manner.”