Parliamentary representative for Central Kingstown St. Clair Leacock has suggested that the National Lotteries Authorities (NLA) pay the registration fees for students entering secondary school in St. Vincent.
Students pay fees of various amounts when entering secondary school.
Speaking on the New Democratic Party (NDP) radio program, Leacock said a constituent told him the registration fees at the community college were as high as EC$700 (One EC dollar=US$0.37).
“Those are pretty heavy fees,” said Leacock, a vice-president of the opposition NDP.
“Whatever the numbers are if we do the math and we multiply it by $500 by 2,000, we are still talking $1 million,” Leacock said, referring to the total amount that is paid in registration fees.
He said this is where the NLA, which was established to support sports and culture, can play a role.
“…. [Take] one of those $80 million that they generate, and we say this is for a good cause, this is for the future of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we are investing in our young people, let us pay these registration fees,” Leacock said.
“We can’t lose, and, in that case, it doesn’t even become a balance sheet item for the government. It doesn’t enter the budget as a negotiation, there is no strain on the taxpayers.”
He added: “So, it is not a small contribution if you take the money off a parent. You are giving them nearly three, four months’ benefits.”
St. Clair Leacock pointed out that the NDP, which had bought lands and established the community college, and set up the book loan scheme when it was in power, would implement several education policies if voted back into the office, including paying the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination fees for all students.
“We are thinking these things through. We are not only doing the analysis, but we are being solutions-based and solutions-anchored,” he said.
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