Shernette Gillispie, Gleaner Intern

It is said to be free, but don't tell that to the hundreds of parents who will have to dig deep into their pockets to pay the school charges before their children return to school in September.

The Government pays the tuition fees for students at the secondary level but, in many cases, the schools still demand thousands of dollars from parents for auxiliary charges.

In fact, several secondary schools are charging as much as $25,000 in auxiliary fees. These, they say, are for the development fund, registration, the parent-teacher association, and for the use of computer labs.

In some instances, parents face the additional charges of medicals and book rental.

While some parents appear ready and willing to pay, the cry from many others is for mercy, especially in light of the present economic crisis.

A struggle

"To pay the school fee is a struggle and at the moment, I am the only one working," Vaneta Williams, a mother and secretary, told The Sunday Gleaner.

"It is not that we do not want to pay the school charges, but right now, things are rough," said John Jones, a father of two children attending secondary schools.

He said he had to seek a grant from his employer to offset his children's back-to-school expenses, which add up to approximately $52,000.

Nadine Molloy, president of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools, is urging parents to be understanding of the problems facing school administrators.

She pointed to the many expenses facing schools, which are not covered by the money provided by the education ministry.

According to Molloy, schools are faced with increases in the cost of items, such as electricity, and need creativity and cooperation if they are to survive.

A partnership

"Education should be a partnership with all of us (parents, private and public sectors) involved," Molloy stated, as she pointed to efforts by some schools to reduce the expenses facing parents.

Checks by The Sunday Gleaner revealed that many schools have obeyed the directive of the Ministry of Education not to increase fees for the 2009-2010 school year.

According to Education Minister Andrew Holness, despite the challenges facing schools, they have been mandated not to increase the charges.

For this fiscal year, the Government has allocated $2.8 billion to pay the tuition fees of the approximately 222,000 students in the island's 178 secondary schools.

Many principals have argued that, this is not enough, and Holness has accepted that some schools will depend on the auxiliary contribution to meet some of their expenses.

However, he is adamant that, "no student should be turned away because of an inability to pay".

The education minister said schools which refuse to admit students, or ban them from using government facilities, such as computer labs, because of non-payment of fees, are in breach of the ministry's guidelines.

Name changed upon request.