KINGSTON, Jamaica – Leader of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party Andrew Holness today clarified the party’s position regarding the removal of tuition fees, following reports in sections of the media which he said warrants clarification and the elimination of ambiguities.

“The Jamaica Labour Party, as it has done in the past, is committing to the removal of all obligatory fees at the secondary level,” the Opposition leader said in a news release Tuesday.

Holness reminded the public that in delivering on its undertaking in the lead-up to the September 2007 general elections and advancing toward universal access to education, the JLP Government removed tuition fees at the secondary level.

He said, however, that since the change of administration following the December 2011 general elections, the JLP’s tuition-free policy has been reversed as Education Minister Ronald Thwaites has declared that fees at the secondary level are obligatory.

“The public should note that when the JLP Government of 2007-2011 removed tuition fees at the secondary level, as a policy directive, there were no fees that were compulsory. Therefore, while schools charged auxiliary fees and received contributions from parents and other stakeholders toward education, none of those contributions were obligatory,” Holness said. “In effect, an inability to make a payment/contribution toward education did not place parents or their children in the embarrassing position of being denied or restricted in terms of access.”

He went on to say that with the reversal of the policy, what now obtains is a situation where “parents are being subjected to embarrassment and the all-important objective of universal access is being compromised due to an inability to pay fees that are now obligatory”.

“It is the Jamaica Labour Party’s considered view that this policy is inimical to universal access to education and is a retrograde step, especially when considered against the backdrop of the marked improvements in enrolment and student performance under the JLP’s policy of non-obligatory fees,” Holness said.

The Opposition leader said the JLP also considers the financing of tertiary education as a priority area.

“It is our commitment that as our economy grows and generates improvement in revenue that would make the removal of obligatory fees at the tertiary level affordable by Government, we will move in that direction,” he said.