Wycliffe Smith
~ Decree on funding of schools approved ~
PHILIPSBURG–Educating one child in a government subsidized school costs government approximately NAf. 11,403.23 per year. The figures were provided by Education Minister Wycliffe Smith during the live Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday.
Smith told reporters that the eight private school boards that government currently subsidizes collected a grand total of NAf. 72,114,029 during the 2017-2018 academic year. School boards receive subsidies based on the number of students in their schools. The lowest annual subsidy a school board received last year was NAf. 1,865,426.43 and the highest was NAf. 18,311,120.56.
School boards receive the funds for the 6,324 students who are being educated in their schools. “When we divide NAf. 72,114, 029 amongst the 6,342 students, you get an amount of NAf. 11,403.23 per student. That is the average amount that government is paying annually for primary and secondary school students to be educated. That is a lot of money,” Smith said, adding that the figure is almost as much as government grants in study financing per student to pursue tertiary studies at University of St. Martin (USM). “Government spends a lot of money on education and we need to see the return on this investment in education.”
Decree approved
In the meantime, Government approved a draft decree outlining regulations covering the funding of schools during the Council of Ministers meeting on Wednesday. The decree will be sent to the Council of Advice for further review, Smith said. The law on school funding prescribes that school boards receive a lump sum in subsidy from government annually and they are required to spend it according to the criteria laid down in the law. At the end of each school year, the board is required to submit a financial report to the Education Ministry outlining how the funds have been spent. If the funds are accounted for, subsidy is granted for another year. If it is unaccounted for, government will “work with the school board for another year,” Smith said, noting that withholding subsidy is the very last resort.
He said also that school boards are autonomous bodies that have their own hiring policy. An education minister does not hire teachers. The information on teacher shortage is available to the minister and this can be presented to the public as general information.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/79850-govt-pays-naf-11-403-per-year-to-educate-one-student
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