THE government said yesterday that it will pay the tuition fees for those students whose parents are unable to pay when the new school year opens in September.

Information Minister Donald Buchanan made the announcement at yesterday’s Jamaica House press briefing, following the weekly meeting of ministers.

The announcement by Buchanan, the government’s chief spokesman, comes on the heels of a recent commitment from Leader of the Opposition Bruce Golding that a Jamaica Labour Party government would end cost-sharing and refund parents who have already paid tuition fees, if elected on August 27 to form the government.

“The government is saying that any child who cannot afford to pay will have its fees paid by the government. We are equally saying that the parents who want to pay and volunteer to pay will not be stopped from paying the fees for their child,” Buchanan told reporters.

The government currently covers 50 per cent of the tuition fees under the cost-sharing programme.