Seaga: The bottom is falling out of the education bucket. OPPOSITION LEADER Edward Seaga is warning that a crisis is looming for students from poor households attending school as parents will not be able to afford the 27 per cent jump in back to school costs come September.
In a release issued yesterday, Mr. Seaga stressed that "poor households will face a critical choice of whether to school all their children (whether by) legal or illegal means to find the $80,000 or more for one child."
According to Mr. Seaga, schooling costs have jumped from just over $63,000 last year, to just over $80,000; an increase of $17,000 or 27 per cent. He pointed to the cost for transportation, text books and other essential school materials such as uniforms. Mr. Seaga noted that costs for students attending secondary or high schools will face much steeper increases, more in the region of 33 per cent.
SOCIAL PROGRAMMES WON'T BE PANACEA
The difficulty will exist in spite of the programmes, such as the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) and cost-sharing, formulated to assist in offsetting costs to parents, the Opposition Leader said.
However, last week Education Minister, Maxine Henry-Wilson, told a Gleaner Editors' Forum that up to two weeks ago only 27,000 persons had applied for assistance through the PATH or cost-sharing programmes. The Government has made provisions for 40,000 persons.
The Minister urged parents in need of assistance to apply through the programmes before the start of the new school term.
THERE WILL BE CONFUSION
Mr. Seaga said the problem exists in the authorities determining which students are on the PATH programme from the ones who remain on the cost-sharing programme. He pointed out that "confusion reigns in these categories (of which) poorer students will be the victims."
The high costs, he said, is a "result of the Government's failed economic programme, high taxes and 35 per cent devaluation of the Jamaican dollar."
"There is no sign on the horizon that the Government understands that because of this household financial crisis ...the bottom is falling out of the education bucket," Mr. Seaga said.
