Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter

PRIME MINISTER Bruce Golding has described as extortion, the practice of some schools turning away students who do not pay the non-obligatory auxiliary fees.

Commenting on the vexing issue in Parliament yesterday, a strident Golding told the nation that auxiliary fees are voluntary.

"We are not going to allow schools to find some other ways of extorting," the prime minister said.

Rejected argument

But last night Michael Stewart, president of the Association of Principals and Vice-Principals, rejected Golding's extortion argument.

"It is not true to say schools are indulging in extortion. That is not a very good statement at all," he said.

Stewart added that, to the best of his knowledge, schools have been following the guidelines to increase auxiliary fees.

"We have not increased our fees above what has been announced by the minister," said Stewart who is also the principal of the Porus High School in Manchester.

He said parents should discuss their situations with school administrators with a view to finding common ground.

Forced to make statement

Education Minister Andrew Holness was forced to make a statement to the House of Repre-sentatives on auxiliary fees, yesterday, following public outcry on the amounts being charged by some schools.

Holness said the increases were so exorbitant that they could cause discrimination in the Jamaican secondary school system.

The minister's address came a week after Opposition MP Michael Peart appealed for him to speak on the matter. Holness said the ministry had received reports of "unreasonable and unexplained" increases in the auxiliary fees of some schools.

According to the education minister, schools may charge auxiliary fees but they must not amount to more than 20 per cent above that which was charged last year.

He also said the charge for items such as ties and identification cards must not be referred to as auxiliary fees.

Yesterday Golding said some schools have regarded auxiliary fees as an easy way of raising money. He said many schools have abandoned the route of partnering with communities for fund-raising.

"We are not going to allow any school to impose them and to seek to transform them into a mandatory requirement," the prime minister stressed.

Last year, the Government abolished tuition fees in secondary schools; a move which some analysts said then, would force schools to increase auxiliary fees to boost their cash flow.

Meanwhile, Maxine Henry-Wilson, the opposition spokesman on education, urged that a debate takes place in the House on the matter of financing schools' operation.

Similarly, Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller joined in the call for the debate and urged the Government to be cautious.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com