NewsWhore
10-20-2010, 03:10 PM
School tuition fees are the subject of debate every year, and the announcement that of Education Minister Melanio Paredes had "found" a law dealing with the issue has captured the attention of the nation's press.
In today's edition, Diario Libre writes, "while the National Federation of Private Educational Centers said that they were surprised that the Minister of Education 'just found' a law that regulates the tuition of the schools, former Ministers of Education Alejandrina German (2004-2008) and Ligia Amado Melo (1996-2000) expressed their view that it is not easy to apply Law 86-00, due to the process of supervision and systemization that is required to regulate the tuition fees.
The issue is that the law establishes that for the Ministry to set and regulate the tuition fees, it should take into account 'a fair profit margin, in accord with the quality of the teaching that each school offers, as well as the indexation'."
At the same time, the scale of private school tuition fees is supposed to be reviewed every three years or when a school presents a budget that involves investments or major changes and any violation will carry a fine of between RD$10,000 and RD$100,000.
Education Minister Melanio Paredes reiterated yesterday that he would apply the regulation of tuition fees to the schools, according to the law, for the coming school year after he found it "stuck in a drawer". This comes about after every year as parents and schools keep arguing over the yearly increases in tuition.
The most recent increase was seen in May of this year when some private schools increased their tuition by 25% or 30%.
Another former Minister of Education, Milagros Ortiz Bosch (2000-2004) reminded reporters that even though the law went into effect in 2003, several meetings of the National Council on Education were held and part of it was applied, stressing not only the part relating to tuition, but also on teacher training and equipping facilities both in sports and in technology. In Article 2, the Law 86-00 establishes that in order to classify the private schools and establish the tuition that should be charged, it should be categorized according to the quality of its installations, the professional level of its teachers, the condition of the school, the safety of students and teachers and its administration.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)
In today's edition, Diario Libre writes, "while the National Federation of Private Educational Centers said that they were surprised that the Minister of Education 'just found' a law that regulates the tuition of the schools, former Ministers of Education Alejandrina German (2004-2008) and Ligia Amado Melo (1996-2000) expressed their view that it is not easy to apply Law 86-00, due to the process of supervision and systemization that is required to regulate the tuition fees.
The issue is that the law establishes that for the Ministry to set and regulate the tuition fees, it should take into account 'a fair profit margin, in accord with the quality of the teaching that each school offers, as well as the indexation'."
At the same time, the scale of private school tuition fees is supposed to be reviewed every three years or when a school presents a budget that involves investments or major changes and any violation will carry a fine of between RD$10,000 and RD$100,000.
Education Minister Melanio Paredes reiterated yesterday that he would apply the regulation of tuition fees to the schools, according to the law, for the coming school year after he found it "stuck in a drawer". This comes about after every year as parents and schools keep arguing over the yearly increases in tuition.
The most recent increase was seen in May of this year when some private schools increased their tuition by 25% or 30%.
Another former Minister of Education, Milagros Ortiz Bosch (2000-2004) reminded reporters that even though the law went into effect in 2003, several meetings of the National Council on Education were held and part of it was applied, stressing not only the part relating to tuition, but also on teacher training and equipping facilities both in sports and in technology. In Article 2, the Law 86-00 establishes that in order to classify the private schools and establish the tuition that should be charged, it should be categorized according to the quality of its installations, the professional level of its teachers, the condition of the school, the safety of students and teachers and its administration.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)