Tuesday, May 06, 2008 DepEd bans collection of school fees
NO COLLECTION of school fees!
This was the marching orders issued by Education Secretary Jesli Lapus to all the teachers and principals of the country’s public elementary schools during the coming enrolment period and at anytime during the school year.
Lapus said authorized or voluntary money transaction has been scrapped from Grades I to IV this coming school year.
“Definitely no money transactions in Grades I to IV this school year as we wanted the children to enter the school. This move is in line with our constitutional mandate to provide free public education at the elementary and secondary levels,” Lapus said in Department of Education (DepEd) Order No. 19 series of 2008.
School day opening is usually marred with confusion arising from parents' complaints of collection by some school authorities. During the 2007 opening of classes, almost 90 percent of queries in the DepEd hotlines were about school fees.
The scheme was crafted after DepEd observed the decline in the enrollment of school children last year posting only 83 percent.
Lapus said the low enrollment was caused by the charging of authorized and voluntary contributions particularly Boy Scout, Red Cross Girl Scout, PTA (Parents-Teachers Association), Anti-TB and others.
PTAs may start collection only after presenting to members and to the school administration a report on the utilization of the previous school year's collections. The amount of PTA contribution shall be agreed upon in a general assembly of the PTA.
Meanwhile, school publication fee shall be set at the school level but shall not be more than P60 per elementary school pupil and P90 per secondary school student. The publication of a school newspaper, while not mandatory, is strongly encouraged, particularly at the secondary level in line with the DepEd's campus journalism program.
Relative to this, the membership fees for student organizations shall be set by the organization subject to school policies on student organizations.
With this, Lapus said the department should do something so as to give the parents and the children as a whole to enter the school and enroll.
On the other hand, Grades V and VI will pay the authorized and voluntary charges after a month.
It means these senior elementary students will also not pay any amount when they enroll. Teachers were directed to ask for payments of charges only after a month.
However, if the students still has no money to pay after a month they will not be forced to pay.
Any violation will subject the erring DepEd personnel to administrative sanction.
Lapus said the no-charge policy should be explained to the parents of the students particularly the lower levels.
He said the main purpose of the scheme is to entice the parents and the students not to be afraid because they will be taken cared of even if they have no money.
Once the students are enrolled, DepEd will also help them in their daily needs particularly food and other supplements needed by the students.
In this, Lapus said there is no more reason for the students to stop coming to school because the education department is doing everything to help them.
The education chief revealed that at present they are now preparing the different public elementary and high schools in the country with the help of the parents and the different barangays. (AH/Sunnex)
