Petrina Francis, Education Reporter
OCHO RIOS, St. Ann:
A GROUP has been commissioned to study the rationalisation of statutory contributions to ensure their effective usage, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson announced yesterday.
"We have accepted that the time has come to re-examine, not only the incidence of tax for the various bodies such as the NHT (National Housing Trust), NIS (National Insurance Scheme), HEART and the education tax, but also the quantum that each should get," he said.
"(But) I decided that I could not wait until that exercise was completed. We need to start the (education) transformation now and that is why we have gone the route of a one-off transfer from the NHT," Mr. Patterson told more than 200 delegates and observers attending the 41st Jamaica Teachers' Association annual conference.
The three-day conference is be held at the newly refurbished Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort in Ocho Rios, St. Ann.
In April, the Prime Minister announced that $5 billion would be transferred from the National Housing Trust to assist with the transformation of the education system. This did not go down well with the Opposition, who argued that the transfer of the NHT funds should have been a loan.
But, yesterday, Mr. Patterson said he would not apologise for dedicating the $5 billion to education and reiterated that it was not a loan but an investment.
