HAGUE, Trelawny-Saying there is no such thing as free education, Maxine Henry Wilson, the education minister has warned that education would suffer if the government were to eliminate tuition fees.

“I want to say to you there is nothing called free education. Somebody always pays. I want to say that the reason why we are not making any commitment to eliminating school fees is because we want to ensure that we have quality education; that when your child leaves school they are able to compete with anybody in the world,” Henry Wilson said.

She added: “When we are able to provide quality education then we can look at the other issues that relate to fees for schools.”

Henry-Wilson’s remarks came in a speech Friday at the official opening of the Hague Primary and Infant School in Trelawny, where she also stressed that the government was currently spending “billions of dollars” to guarantee a high standard of education for the Jamaican youths.

“We are spending billions of dollars refurbishing schools, we are spending billions of dollars on text books, we are spending billions of dollars on nutrition, we are spending billions of dollars on furniture, we are spending billions of dollars on repositioning our education system, training for our teachers, all of that is what is going to make the difference.”

The education minister encouraged parents to contribute to their children’s education, reminding that currently parents were only required to pay half of the tuition fee for high school students and no school fees at the primary level.

“… Those who are coming behind us who are talking about eliminating tuition fees in primary school – they (fees) have already been eliminated at primary schools. What we ask for at secondary schools is that you make a contribution because government already pays half of what the tuition fee should be,” Henry Wilson insisted.

The education minister pleaded with the Trelawny residents to protect the new facility.

“In the same way when you get a new car or a new house, you care it, protect – it is the same way I want you to protect and care the school. I want you to treat it as yours.”