THE MINISTER of Education Andrew Holness has instructed all schools to cap auxiliary fees in the face of difficult economic times. The minister is once again showing his misunderstanding of the fundamentals of education trans-formation, that is, the transfer of authority and autonomy from the ministry to the schools.

Currently, the ministry only contributes to teachers' salaries, while school fees, auxiliary fees and fund-raisers are used to close the funding gap. While schools need ministry approval for school fees, there is no such requirement for auxiliary fees. In fact, auxiliary fees are not mandatory and, in some cases, are discouraged by the ministry.

Auxiliary fees

It is at the school level where the decisions are made to set the level of auxiliary fees. Parents who can afford to pay an increase are happy to do so, as they understand that these fees are for the benefit of their children. It is, therefore, ridiculous for the minister to now reverse the delegation of authority that schools have successfully exercised over the years. In fact, taking no responsibility for the running of the schools and trying to take authority for setting auxiliary fees shows a total misalign-ment between authority and accountability.

The minister needs to rethink this one and allow the schools' leadership to run the schools.

I am, etc.,

Robert Wynter

Partner, Growth Facilitators

robwyn@cwjamaica.com