Today’s topic: Is the free education scheme discriminatory?

Is the free education scheme discriminatory? That’s the question posed today by Maposua Solomona Toailoa, President of the People’s Party.
A week after the implementation of the programme which allows children to attend government and church primary schools for free, Maposua said the scheme is discriminatory.

This is so since it violates the Constitution which clearly states everyone should get “equal treatment under the law.”
The scheme in question obviously doesn’t. Not all students are covered – for example students who attend private schools get nothing.

What’s more, Maposua has raised an interesting point. Since church schools are regarded as private schools, why then are they getting help?
“Who is carried and who is made to walk?” asked Maposua.
It’s a valid question, one that could have been asked by any parent who has to fork out multiple hundreds just so their child can attend the first term at a private school.

Although no one has been game enough to ask - until today – nothing can be further from the truth. It is a valid concern.
Why are church schools included? Don’t these churches have millions of tala in the bank, hotels to boot and multiple million-tala assets not to mention businesses? Why can’t the church then fund education for their members? And don’t most parents give to the church on a weekly basis, which should at least make the church feel obligated to help?

Parents have different reasons behind the decision about which school their child attends. While the lure of free schooling is tempting, some parents would not entertain the idea. They know that with free education, something will give. And in some schools, there is always the question of the quality of education, the standard of facilities among other issues.
And although some parents struggle, they want to ensure their child gets the best education possible – even if they have to loan as Maposua rightly pointed out.

Somehow, one gets the feeling something could have been done to help such parents.  With $5.8million allocated for the scheme, at least something could have been allocated to private schools.
We are mindful, however, that this is a new scheme and with most things new, they take time to perfect. Perhaps it’s something the committee behind the scheme can consider for the future.

Make no mistake, we are grateful and feel deeply indebted to New Zealand and Australia for providing the funds to make the scheme a reality.
Although it’s not perfect yet, it’s a start. And with a lot of hard work, it’s something that will benefit many people in this country.
So do we think the scheme discriminates against private schools?
Even if it appears so, we doubt it was intentional.

As a parent whose child attends a private school, yes we struggle like most parents. But the question of whether we’ll take her to a government school simply because it’s free will never be entertained.
We’d rather see the funds being channeled to parents who need it more – like the many parents who feature on our Helping Hand page - so their children can at least have the opportunity to attend school.
Have a good week!

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