Re-elected president of the People’s National Party Women’s Movement (PNPWM), Jennifer Edwards yesterday warned that the women of the movement would be not be paying any fees for their children to attend school come September.

“Well I am a person who likes to believe my leader and follow my leader and the prime minster of Jamaica has told us that education is free, free, free, so the women of the PNPWM are sending their children to school in September without any fee, of any kind, under any guise.

“I don’t want to hear that it is not auxiliary fee, it is developmental fee, it is a package fee, it is some other fee. They said no fee, so no fee it will be,” said Edwards in an impassioned address to the PNP Women’s Conference at the University of the West Indies, in Kingston.

Edwards advised the women: “Use your money to buy books for your children, use your money to ensure that your children are fed…

The prime minister has said that you are not to pay any school fee. Follow what your prime minister said to you,” she added.

The Jamaica Labour Party, during its election campaign, had promised to abolish auxiliary fees in secondary schools in the coming school year. Consequently, Education Minister Ruel Ried has instructed schools to no longer charge auxiliary fees, reasoning that it has become too taxing on parents and the education ministry has since increased its allocation to schools from $11500 to $19,000 per student.

Parents are, however, encouraged to make a non-obligatory contribution to schools.The ministry has stipulated that the contribution being requested by schools should not exceed $20,000, inclusive of registration fee.

But at the same time, Edwards said that the prime minister’s comments are questionable,

“The truth is that he is confused sometimes, so I can’t even tell you that all the time,” she said.

According to Edwards, she is expecting to hear further announcements from Government regarding the suspension of other fees because it is “freeniss time now”.

“So we’re going to have free health, free education, and I am waiting to hear about the free housing. I am waiting to hear about the free water, I am waiting to hear about the free electricity, I am waiting to hear about the free transportation; so very soon you won’t have any need for the salary,” she said.

Added Edward: “ That is perhaps why the $18,000 that was promised to you on All Fools’ Day has not reached you. It will not reach you. It didn’t reach in April, it didn’t reach in May, and it didn’t reach in June. It is not going to reach you.”

According to Edwards, the tax break had been cancelled and would be replaced by “tax poverty”.

She said Jamaicans should brace for “increase in electricity bill, increase in transportation, increase in chicken price, increase in salt, increase in yam, increase in every single item that is produced using electricity or every thing that is transported into Jamaica.

“You will be paying increased price for it over the next couple years,” Edwards said.