Wednesday, May 07, 2008 Editorials: Collecting school fees
THERE is reason to believe that the announced ban on the collection of fees in public schools will provide relief to parents of millions of students in public schools.
At a time when people are suffering as our nation’s economy weakens, any move to lessen school expenses is welcome.
Many parents have been forced to pull their children out of the schools because of their inability to pay the most modicum school fee required upon enrolment.
Thus, the announcement by the Department of Education (DepEd) the other day schools would not collect fees come enrolment time in June is a ray of sunlight in gloomy financial skies.
Free education
DepEd feels that the decline of enrolment last year is traceable to the collection of fees that was “marred with confusion arising from parents complaints.”
“This move is in line with our constitutional mandate to provide free public education at the elementary and secondary levels,” said the DepEd secretary in his order.
School fees
Among the fees are authorized and voluntary contributions, particularly those for the Boy Scouts, Red Cross, Girl Scouts, Parents-Teachers Association, etc.
This “extra taxation” of enrollees in the primary and secondary levels has stymied the pursuit of learning of thousands of our youths.
Indeed, many of the report cards of last year’s enrollees have not been released by the teachers until the student pays the unpaid fees.
The “debt” ranges from less than a P100 to more than P500.
For a pupil to get a weekly one-hour instruction in computer use, he or she pays P50 a month.
The fee will reportedly go the the maintenance of the unit.
There are other fees like P10 for the test papers, P1 for security, P60 for the PTA, etc.
Gift
All told, the total fees of elementary school kids could well run up to more than P500 a year, including such other impositions some schools at the secondary level collect under miscellaneous or monthly fees to maintain certain services.
The school fees collection ban can therefore be considered the parents’ “gift” from DepEd.
