Back to school at a high cost

ALLEGATIONS from parents that they have been made to pay voluntary school contributions with their Back to School

Leanyer Primary School open plan learning for transition classes..... Teacher Bernadette Krnjic with her class.

ALLEGATIONS from parents that they have been made to pay voluntary school contributions with their Back to School vouchers should warrant immediate investigation by Education Minister Peter Chandler.

Instead, the Minister has dismissed the idea of any wrongdoing by the Leanyer Primary School council, saying all the money was used to provide students with educational items.

However these “educational items” — which include additional physical education equipment and printing allowances — are very clearly non-essential education items and services.

And the government’s own policy document stipulates that the vouchers can be used only on essential education items such as stationery and book packs, which have conveniently been bundled in with the other items.

This meant that the cost of sending a preschooler to the public school was an exorbitant $320 a year, of which parents contributed their Back to School vouchers to help pay for.

Clearly this doesn’t leave much change for them to buy school uniforms and other necessities for the start of the school year — which is what the vouchers were designed to help with.

Since the NT News first ran the story in early January, the school has changed its payment structure and removed the compulsory book pack component from the “additional learning programs” — meaning parents enrolling a preschooler this year have to pay only $45. That’s quite a steep drop.

The school has also seemingly scrapped its $15 fee to hire library books.

Understandably, parents are now demanding an investigation from the NT Government and have also indicated they are prepared to take legal action to recoup their money.