Education Minister Senator Ruel Reid is advising that where schools have funding shortfalls in meeting operational needs they should contact the ministry for assistance.

The minister’s comments were made against the background of complaints from parents about breaches of the ministry’s non-mandatory fees policy.

In a release today (Aug 3) the Education Minister says he and senior ministry staff have regular meetings with the Jamaica Teachers Association, and no concerns have been raised over the past year about funding shortfalls.

Yesterday, Senator Reid warned that several school administrators and boards of management faced strong action from the ministry of education if there were continued breaches of the ministry’s non-mandatory fees policy.

The release says in some cases, letters to parents advised that failure to pay fees would result in their children or wards not receiving registration packages or other education material.