Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro says school heads must not charge parents any levy as a condition for enrolling their children, warning that mandatory fees breach Fiji’s free education policy.
He made the clarification in Parliament after Opposition MP Hem Chand asked whether the ministry had monitoring systems to ensure schools were not imposing levies for enrolment.
Mr Radrodro said the requirement was clear and repeatedly communicated to schools.
“Memos from Ministry of Education is usually given out to the heads of school, reminding them of the importance of no levy be charged to students,” he said.
He added that heads of schools were bound by their employment contracts to follow Ministry policies, including those relating to parent and student levies.
“It clearly stipulates that they should align themselves to the policies of the Ministry of Education… It should not be a precondition for enrolment.”
Mr Radrodro said monitoring and evaluation work was ongoing to ensure compliance.
Mr Chand raised concerns about a recent case involving a Suva school where a $250 levy was reported, saying some school heads continued to ignore ministry directives.
“Recently, it was highlighted in the media… a school in Suva has implemented a levy of $250.
“That means your school heads are not adhering to the memo which was sent.”
Mr Radrodro said the school’s intention was not to make the levy a condition for entry and discussions were underway to ensure no child was disadvantaged.
“We are trying to discuss with them to ensure that the parents are not victimised for enrolment in the new year… But still, work is in progress, nothing has been formed yet.”
