Published On:Thursday, August 05, 2010

By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Staff Reporter
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

Private and church affiliated schools whose government subsidies had been slashed did not receive the full percentage cut, according to Education Minister Desmond Bannister.

The 2010/2011 budget, tabled in the House of Assembly in May, indicated that government funding to the schools would be cut by 20 per cent, however Mr Bannister said no school was cut the full amount.

He said: “Where we may have had any discretion, we tried to increase it. If there was any money at all available in the budget that we could find – anywhere, even if it was just $50, we included it into that funding.”

The education minister reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to work with the private sector as best it could during the difficult period, however he said that underperforming schools would not be given priority. He explained that going forward the ministry would be re-evaluating the performance of private schools, specifically non-affiliated schools that had been receiving funding but were not producing significant results. The subsequent restructuring of grants would affect a greater correlation between the funding allotted and results achieved.

Mr Bannister added: “As soon as possible, we are looking to increase the grants.

“It is a tight budget, but we are constantly looking at ways in which we can provide greater assistance.”

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