THE MINISTRY of Education has paid over in excess of $500 million to high schools across the island, under the Government's school fee assistance programme.
The cheques have been drawn and sent to the Ministry's regional offices, confirmed Permanent Secretary Margueritte Bowie.
The money represents funds under the cost-sharing programme and the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) and was made available two months ahead of the March deadline the Ministry had set for payments.
The payments came two days after principals met and decided that they would hold another meeting next week to determine their exact level of indebtedness, and use the information to press the Government into allocating the funds now.
WORRIED
The high schools became worried after their already folding operations were at risk of closing sooner as the Ministry had said it would not be paying out the cost-sharing money usually paid in January.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Education gave a commitment that it would be financing the school fees of some 44,000 students who were selected for assistance under PATH.
Additionally, it had assumed responsibility for half of the school fees of more than 100,000 students under the cost-sharing programme.
The Ministry of Education said its preliminary figures show that over 120,000 students were assisted under the fees programme this year.
In addition, PATH said over 68,000 students were on its programme for fee assistance up to December 2003.
Stanley Skeene, President of the Association of Principals and Vice-Principals, has called off the planned emergency meeting for principals of the upgraded high schools scheduled for next Monday.
"We got the money we were pushing for, hence there is no need for a meeting," Mr. Skeene told The Gleaner.
The upgraded high schools, whose fees are below that of the traditional high schools, were drastically short in their operational budgets. Their budgets are 100 per cent financed from school fees.
The association will be hosting its general meeting as planned on February 21 at Cedric Titus High. Mr. Skeene is also urging the principals to go to their regional offices and collect the cheques as soon as possible.
