THE Opposition People’s National Party and the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) have strongly protested statements made by Education Minister, Senator Ruel Reid on Wednesday, when he chastised school administrators for forcing parents to pay auxiliary fees and operating counter to the Government’s policy of voluntary contributions.

Opposition spokesman on education Ronald Thwaites has accused Reid of bullying administrators, while the JTA wants the minister to withdraw the statements which he made at a Jamaica House press conference on Wednesday.

Senator Reid had referred to the reported practice of withholding access to education material and graduation packages if parents do not pay, as “extortion”, stating that it is “a corrupt act against the policy of the Government”, and warned that his ministry would be taking very strong action against principals and boards who are in breach of the auxiliary fee policy.

He noted that last year the amount requested of parents amounted to just above $2.1 million, of which just over $900 million was collected — half of that from schools in Kingston, St Andrew and St Catherine.

“We would like to remind parents that it’s a voluntary contribution and schools therefore must not seek to demand by using creative means to force parents to make the contribution. We have provided substantial amount of resources for schools to operate efficiently, and any additional funds are in addition to what we provide, but it cannot be done in a manner that is considered to be forcing one to pay,” he insisted, naming several prominent Kingston schools, which he said were in breach of the policy.

“I am warning principals and boards to get in line to be compliant. We will be coming after you to ensure that you are in full compliance with the Government’s policy directive,” Senator Reid stated.

Yesterday, the JTA called the minister’s comments unfortunate.

“We believe that these comments will serve no useful purpose than to create animosity and confrontation and could also destroy the integrity of schools’ boards and administrators,” the JTA said in a release.

The Opposition spokesman argued that schools are not receiving enough money from the ministry to cover costs, and urged the Government to fix this gap instead of “trying to bully and intimidate them and threatening to ‘come after them’, as if they are scammers”.

“At the high school level, the real cost is much more than the $17,000 or $19,000 per year contributed by Government. The best schools spend more than $50,000 a year on each student,” he said.

“Principals who press hard for contributions are neither corrupt nor extortionate. They are trying to encourage a proper sense of priorities among parents and to raise money to pay inescapable school bills. If Government thinks they should not do so, the remedy is simple — just send each school all that they need to balance their budgets and improve their programmes,” he said.

Meanwhile, the JTA said it does not condone any action that deprives students of their education and urged administrators to ensure that the relationship with the parents and community as well as the ministry and other stakeholders remain cordial.

In support of the ministry’s stance, the education minister outlined a number of measures that he said are being implemented to assist schools and to prevent parents from dipping into their own pockets, such as a bus system and payment for identification cards and insurance for PATH students, as well as literature books for grade seven.

“We are doing a lot to support our children, particularly the poor and vulnerable, and we are not going to allow school administrators to, in any way, thwart the Government’s policy directive,“ he said.

He noted that the ministry has also met with churches and trusts, which have given undertaking to cooperate.

“And we are insisting that that cooperation manifests itself in terms of the communication, the language and the actions of school administrators,” he stated.

The education minister advised yesterday that where schools have shortfalls in meeting operational needs, they should contact the ministry for assistance and funds will be provided as is necessary.