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I have been approached by many parents complaining about the state of affairs in the private and church schools and arguing that the state must intervene in order than to protect them from this rip-off.
They argue that if church Schools are being funded also by public monies, then the taxpayer has the right to know how that money is being spent and that the autonomy of these schools does not mean that they should not provide information about their selection criteria. In the case of private schools, parents argue that the fees are getting higher and higher and that new additional fees are being introduced and added on so that many parents are being left with no choice but to remove their children from these schools.
I came across three Parliamentary Questions regarding De La Salle College and the Minister of Education provided information stating that from the year 2000 to 2006 we have given this college more than Lm1 million from our taxes, to be exact Lm1,091,818. Nothing wrong with that, do not get me wrong, but on being asked about the entry requirement to their sixth form classes, the Minister of Education replied that the criteria is in the school prospectus, that the successful candidates are listed on the notice board and that those who have not been selected can ask for information and that Church sixth forms are autonomous.
So far so good, but only on paper. In most cases what is happening is that some private schools are toying with the selection criteria and the parents of those students who do not make it to Sixth Form are being left in the dark as to the reasons why their children were left out. One parent told me that when asking to know the grades of certain children who made it, the school lawyer invoked the Data Protection Act and stated that because of data protection the school cannot divulge such information.
In Malta, everybody knows each other and the students talk amongst themselves and they know the grades and that is why some parents feel frustrated as to how students with grades lower than those obtained by their children, make it to the Sixth Form whereas their children did not. They are frustrated even more when they know that they are subsidizing the church schools from their taxes but at the same time the governments does not request transparency in their conduct. Having the grades of the students selected to Sixth Form published has nothing to do with data protection – data protection is not there to protect those who abuse but those who are vulnerable and have nobody to protect them and it is a shame for any school to invoke data protection with regards to student grades.
This is because when you invoke data protection to justify your decision not to be transparent and publish the grades of the students who made it to any school and to any class, you are implying you were not just in your decision and the parents start smelling something fishy in the system. I cannot understand why all this secrecy in some schools when all it takes is to publish all the grades and save the school from unwanted rumours and impressions. One parent told me that she happened to know that a student who obtained lesser points than her son was admitted to sixth form whereas hers was not and when she asked for justification, the reply was that she was not entitled to any justification. She also wrote to the Curia but what they did was to rely on the reply given by that school and go no further.
It is a shame actually that because of bad decisions there is a change in the public perception to the extent that if something is not done here and now to ensure transparency in cases where there is numerus clausus, the parents will eventually rebel and lobby so that no more money from our taxes will be given to church schools.
But even private schools that are not church schools are not spared. I had the case lately of a parent who had to take her daughter out of a private school because she could not cope with the additional expenses. This was the case when the school introduced a registration fee for every year that the child is promoted so that the children have to pay a registration fee for every year of their schooling which is recoverable if they actually attend that school year. But what is happening is that this additional fee is an additional and unexpected financial burden, sometimes leaving them with no other choice but to drop their child or children from that school.
Strange but true, there is also that school which charges every schoolboy and schoolgirl Lm5 yearly for the use of the school chair. Yes, there is a fee for using the school chair. Unbelievable, but we have now reached a stage where additional fees are being introduced by private and church schools and which are now bordering on the ridiculous. I can understand that the school wants to know year and year the number of students that will be attending but I cannot understand how the yearly registration fee is not refundable if that child opts to go to another school. After all, the parents would have already paid another registration fee when they enrolled their child in that school.
I am not for government intervention in church and private schools but if we are subsidising the church schools from our taxes, it is wrong for the government to continue to assume that its role is only to fork out money, with no obligation on the schools’ part to be transparent and to treat all students equally. It is true that private schools which are not church schools do not receive any subsidies from the government except the tax exemption introduced in this budget, but there must be a regulator who ensures that these schools do not overcharge and that they give a good return for the money invested by the parents and that they treat all applications on their own merits.
There should be no data protection in schools especially as regards courses or classes which are limited in their availability. Invoking data protection gives the parents the feeling that not everything is above board. On the other hand, if we are paying these schools from our tax money, then their autonomy should not be unlimited. Parents demand transparency, justice and control over the accumulation of school fees and expenses.
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