A Secondary School in Morobe Province has been charging parents higher amounts on project fees.
Some parents refused to pay the K400 project fee, saying the amount is still high, and many can’t afford.
However, the school principal says it is for a major fencing project for the school, which is halfway to be completed.
School fee has been a major concern for most parents every year, despite the government’s tuition fee free policy.
At Lae’s Bumayong Secondary School, parents were asked to pay K400 in project fees for upper secondary, and K250 for lower secondary.
The school’s principal, Mrs Sarah Tapo, however, said that this was the amount that has been approved by the Provincial Education Board, and had been used over the years.
Now with the Provincial Program Advisor for Education suspended and investigations being carried out into the provincial education board, the authority to approve the fees, remains a mystery.
Mrs Tapo also stated that, monies from the project fees are used in the schools’ security fencing project, which is currently under construction and other major projects.
She says Tution Fee Free fundings are only meant for curriculum materials and resources.
The Provincial chairman for Education however, could not clarify how much is a standard and approved project fee for Morobe schools in 2014.
Many parents are questioning why the project fees charged in primary and secondary schools are high, and how government funding would be spent honestly.
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