SENATOR BURCHELL Whiteman has conceded that the government, hard-pressed to pay its bills, may have to reconsider its three-year timetable for phasing out the cost-sharing programme in secondary schools.
"I think we should re-examine the entire situation; what policies the nation wants to apply, and what should be a realistic timetable for phasing out the programme," said Mr. Whiteman, responding to questions posed at a Gleaner Editors' Forum on Tuesday.
The Government had established a three-year timetable for phasing out the cost-sharing programme, to be eliminated by 2005. This timetable was confirmed in the by-partisan agreement on the way forward for education, contained in a resolution passed in the House of Representatives a month ago.
In light of that agreement, he said that it would now require consultations involving the opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and other key stakeholders in the education sector before a decision could be made on the matter.
KEY PLATFORM
Education became a key platform issue during the 2002 general election campaign, particularly after the JLP announced its intention to scrap the cost-sharing programme immediately upon taking office, if elected.
The Government countered with a promise to phase out the programme over a three-year period, arguing that this was a more realistic prospect.
Mr. Whiteman, People's National Party (PNP) general secretary and Minister of Information, remains convinced that the PNP Government's own proposal was more genuine.
"What was proposed by us... was far more practical and manageable and realistic than the offer of instant free education by the Jamaica Labour Party, and that view I still hold," he said.
With principals and bursars of secondary schools coming out against the scrapping of cost-sharing, however, the Information Minister now concedes that the current fiscal challenges facing the Government could make it difficult for the State to stick to even the three-year timetable.
The school administrators have been arguing that, in light of the uncertainty surrounding disbursal of funding to the schools from the Government in a timely manner due to the fiscal crunch, they can ill-afford to forego the resources that are available to the schools through the contributions made directly to the schools by parents.
In light of the resistance being mounted by some schools to the initiative, Mr. Whiteman told The Gleaner that it may be appropriate to re-evaluate the policy. To do so however, he said, there was need for "dialogue on the whole subject, looking at all the various aspects of the commitments given by Government and Opposition in that parliamentary debate.
"If all issues are going to be opened up again, then I think perhaps it's a good time to re-visit the cost-sharing scheme and the whole business of support for the different levels of the education system," he concluded.
Mr. Whiteman attended the Gleaner Editors' Forum on Tuesday, largely in his capacity as the newly elected general secretary of the PNP.
